Gundam SEED: The End is Nigh
by The Man From Pylea
Summary: In the thrilling sequel to Gundam SEED: The Alternative Cut, Logan Mercer is in the fight of his life as he confront his past in a battle that will decide the course of his future
1. Prologue

_Gundam SEED and all characters and products of said are the property of Sunrise Enterntainment _

* * *

_Cosmic Era 72, Chicago Illinois _

PLANTS Consulate General Franklin Ozark pulled out of the PLANTS Consulate on 100 West Erie Street. Ozark had been an employee of the Diplomatic Committee for the better part of 30 years. He had been one of the key negotiators with the Earth Alliance when the PLANTS were trying to get their independence as a sovereign nation.

Most of the other PLANTS diplomatic staff would have considered his current position a demotion, but Ozark didn't see it that way. He had been a one of the supporters of the late Sigel Clyne and had done everything in his power to avoid the last war. Even after Bloody Valentine, when the Earth Alliance fired a nuclear missal and Junious Seven, he had still tired to broker a peace. After he had lost both his sons in the Battle of Casablanca, the tragedy only intensified his efforts to stop any other parents from going through that kind of loss.

When Patrick Zala replaced Clyne, Ozark had been furious to learn that all diplomatic ties with any nation of Earth would cease. Ozark had argued that doing that would only intensify the growing war. After that, Ozark had learned that was his plan. He had tendered his resignation and returned to his home on December City to be with his wife and eleven year old daughter.

Ozark only came back to government service when Gilbert Durandel, the new Supreme Council Chairman, had asked him to go to Chicago. Durandel's determination to live in peace with naturals, and the level headedness of the new Atlantic Federation President Allison Taylor, had given hope for a lasting peace. He took pride in the fact that he could was going to play a role in securing a lasting peace and preventing another war between the PLANTS and the Atlantic Federation.

"What's on the agenda today," asked the driver. His name was Stew Garret and was the PLANTS Security Services agent assigned to protect Ozark.

"Meeting with the police commissioner" said Ozark "Ever since we renewed economic relations, their had been some vandalism on coordinator businesses." Ever since the last war ended, anti-coordinator sentiment had died down in some areas, but some parts of Chicago were still very much anti-coordinator.

"That should be interesting," said Garret. Then the black sedan they were driving pulled up to a street corner. They were right next to a newspaper machine. One of those one's where you put the coin in and get the paper.

Then suddenly without warning, it exploded. The force of the blast sent the car in the air and it landed upside-down on the other side of the street. The car was armored so the blast didn't destroy it. But it certainly would never run again.

Garret was able to open his door and climb out. He pulled out his 9mm Glock 19 and scanned the road. Many of the pedestrians were screaming, and drivers were getting out of their cars and running away. The Garret felt someone pull the Glock away from him.

Garret spun around but felt the wind get knocked out of him when he was punched in the stomach. Garret spun around and saw a tall male staring at him. He was young maybe 18. Garret threw a punch but the mystery man just deflected it with his arm and gave a spin kick to the Garret's side. Then the man punched Garret in the face. This had to be a coordinator; no natural could fight this well against a coordinator. Garret regained his composer and was about to give an elbow strike but the man brought his fists together and collided them against Garrets neck. Garret was killed instantly.

Franklin Ozark saw what was happening and was shocked. He trite to unbuckle himself. When he did, he crawled through the broken car window and got out on the street. Then he turned and saw the assassin holding a large Desert Eagle pistol. The assassin fired a .44 Magnum round into Ozark's heart, killing him.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved.


	2. Happily Ever After

_Two Weeks Later _

"Where is he?" shouted Logan Mercer. He was dressed in a tuxedo passing up and down a waiting room in St. Anthony's Church in Orb. It was noon and it was the day Logan Mercer and Lacus Clyne were to be husband and wife.

"Cagalli just got off the phone with him" said Kira Yamato "he needed to get gas and he got stuck in traffic."

"Perfect" said Logan.

"Tell me why you picked him as best man again?" asked Dearka Elsmen.

"I don't know" said Logan. The bizarre arrangement of Athrun Zala being Logan's best man seemed something out of Logan's playbook. But actually it was Lacus' idea. She thought the idea of her ex-fiancé being best man would be hilarious. Ever since Logan and Lacus had gotten together they started slowly being influenced by each other. Lacus was calling more people "moron" and "jackass". And Logan was more sensitive to inner turmoil of morons and jackasses.

Then the door to the room opened and Andrew Waltfeld walked in. The former ZAFT general was the one who was selected to give the bride away during the ceremony. "Is he here yet?" he asked.

"No" said Logan.

* * *

"What the hell is his problem?" shouted Lacus. She was in her wedding gown and passing around in her waiting room "I mean I want him to do some simple tasks, like show up in this god damn place on time, and he screws it up."

"I'm sure Athrun will be here soon" said Murrue Romius.

"Well Zippidy-Doo-Dah-Day for him" said Lacus "but in the mean time we, the people who actually did what we were told, are still running late."

Then the door opened and Cagalli Yula Attha, maid of honor and Chief Representative of the Orb Union, ran in.

"He's here," said Cagalli.

"Thank God" said Lacus. Then Sai, one of the ushers ran into the room.

"Guys" he said "where on." Then Sai ran to the grooms waiting area.

"Where the hell have you been" shouted Logan.

"I'm sorry," said Athrun.

"You had the rings you idiot," said Logan "this is the most important day of my life and you almost ruined it."

"Will you settle down" snapped Athrun "your acting like a whinny old woman."

"You are an imbecile" snapped Logan.

"Were on" said Sai as he opened the door. The group walked out of the room and toward the alter.

The church was beautifully decorated with lace tied on the pews. The crew of the Archangel, the Kusinagi, and the Eternal were all there. It was the fist time all of them had been together since the last war.

Logan was standing at the alter. He knees were shaking. He just wanted everything to go off without a hitch. Logan had faced down both ZAFT and the Earth Forces. But he never felt more nervous than he was now.

Then the organ player started playing here comes the bride. Lacus came in on Waltfeld's arm. The walked together until about halfway when Waltfeld let go and Lacus walked towards the alter. She finally reached her spot next to Logan. She was accompanied by the maid of honor, and her bride's maid's Murrue and Miriallia. Logan stood by Athrun, the best man, and Kira and Dearka the groom's men.

Then Reverend Malcio, the one who had been selected to perform the ceremony stepped forward. "Dearly beloved" he said "we are here to join Lacus Clyne and Logan Mercer in holy matrimony. If there is anyone present who feels these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold their peace." No one spoke up.

Then the mass began. Logan wasn't really listing to what the reverend was saying. He concentrated on the beautiful woman who was about to become his wife. He still could not believe that Lacus had chosen him, a psychotic ex assassin to be the one who she spent the rest of her life with. Lacus was also enthralled with Logan. She couldn't believed how much he had changed. When she first met him, he had been a troubled soul, so consumed with guilt and anger that he ran the risk of destroying himself. But he was able to pull himself from the brink and stop the Great War. Possibly saving every man woman, and child on Earth and in the PLANTS.

"Now" said Malcio "it is time for the couple to exchange their vows. Lacus Clyne do you take Logan Mercer to be your husband to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live."

"I do" said a nearly tearful Lacus. She was holding Logan's hand staring into his green eyes.

"Logan Mercer, do you take Lacus Clyne to be your wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, in sickness and in heath, as long as you both shall live."

"I do" said Logan his voice cracking.

"The rings please" Then Athrun handed the Reverend the rings. "In the name of the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit, I bless these ring's. Let them be a symbol of this union." Logan put Lacus' ring on her finger and Lacus put Logan's ring on his.

"Then" said the Reverend "by the power vested in me by the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Logan pulled Lacus close and placed a soft kiss on her lips. The crowd behind them started to cheer.

* * *

In the Chandler luxury hotel, the wedding reception was in full swing. Kira watched by the drink table as everyone danced to Michael Jackson's _The Way You Make Feel_. "Hey pretty baby with the high heels on" cried voice on the speaker "you give me a fever like I've never known. You're just a product of my loveless. I like the grove of your walk your talk your dress. I feel your fever from miles around, I'll pick you up in my car and we'll paint the town. Just kiss me baby and tell me twice, that you're the one for me. The way you make me feel."

Kira looked at Athrun and Cagalli. He was happy that his best friend was dating his twin sister. After the war the first thing Kira and Cagalli did was get a DNA test to figure out weather or not they were siblings, and they were. Kira was happy to know that he had a sister. It took Athrun a month to formally ask Cagalli out. From there it was like they had been with each other for the He had never seen the two of them so happy before they had started dating. Cagalli's hotheaded personality was perfectly balanced by Athrun's calm attitude.

However, Kira still felt empty. He wished that Flay was here. He would do anything to hold her, to kiss her, to make love to her. He then turned to Logan and Lacus. Those two were never happier than they were now. They each had huge smiles on their faces.

"Hey" said a soft voice. Kira turned and saw Murrue. She had her hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" asked Kira.

"I miss Mwu" said Murrue "but I know the one thing I know he wanted me to do would be to enjoy myself at this party. So what do you say to a dance?" she extended her hand. But then the song stopped.

"Alright" said the DJ "I would like everyone except the bride and groom to clear the dance floor." The guests all left leaving Logan and Lacus alone in the center. Then the DJ played Sir Elton John's _Can You Feel the Love Tonight_.

Logan held Lacus to him as tightly as he could. In the space of one year, he had what he never thought he could. Someone to share everything. Someone to settle down and have a life with. The assassinations, the torturing, the battles, the wars, the Alliance, Blue Cosmos, it was all behind them. All there was, was him and her. Husband and wife.

Lacus was perfectly content in Logan's arms. She had been dating him for close to 10 months and she wouldn't trade it for anything. She knew that Logan was the one she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. She needed to be with Logan as much as Logan needed to be with her. She had been in relationships before, but she never had this sense of rightness she had when she was with Logan.

Then Logan kissed Lacus softly. "I love you"

"Say it Logan"

"Say what?"

"You know what" said Lacus.

"Alright" said Logan "I love you Lacus Mercer."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved.


	3. Consent to Kill

_Paris France, One Week later _

Henri LaRoshe stared at his untraceable cell phone. He was wondering whether or not he should call his superior. If what he had meant nothing, he would be in for another one of his superior's rants. That was never fun. But if he didn't call, he ran the risk of missing a major opportunity. That would give his superior a reason to kill him.

In the end LaRoshe chose the option that would lead to him having a longer stay on the Earth. He dialed his boss' number and waited for him to pick up.

"What is it" snapped a young voice.

"I'm sorry to disturb you …" said LaRoshe.

"Do you have any idea what time it is here" snapped Mutura Azrael "you better have a good reason to call me like this."

"Are you sitting at your computer sir" asked LaRoshe.

"Yes" replied Azrael tersely.

"I am sending you an image" said LaRoshe, he typed in a few commands on his computer and sent the photo he had been given a hour ago. It was a surveillance photo of a man and a woman driving out of Paris International Airport. LaRoshe herd a gasp from his employer on the other end of the call.

"Is it him" demanded Azrael.

"Yes sir" said LaRoshe "I ran the photo threw our facial recognition program. The man is Logan Mercer."

"Who is the woman with him?"

"I don't know" said LaRoshe "we don't have a good image of her, the shadow from her large hat and sunglasses are obscuring the view."

"The time stamp shows that his photo is a week old" shouted Azrael "why didn't you call me sooner."

"Sir" said LaRoshe "my source in the Eurasian Security Office sent me this not 30 minutes ago. I also needed time to make sure the man was Mercer."

"Are the assets in Paris" demanded Azrael.

"Yes sir" said LaRoshe "both Conrad and Dyson are here."

"There has been a change in plan" said Azrael "send Dyson to kill Mercer within the next 24 hours."

"What about Eileen Cinaver?" asked LaRoshe "and the other target."

"Conrad can take care of Cinaver" said Azrael "and the other target can wait. Also be sure to send a kill squad with Dyson."

"Are you sure" asked LaRoshe.

"Of course I'm sure" screamed Azrael "Mercer was the most effective operative we had. We need to make sure this hit goes down without a hitch."

"Are you sure so soon though?" asked LaRoshe "I mean this is so sudden and if we deviate from the plan we run the risk of…"

"Mercer is a traitor" shouted Azrael "it was because of his interference that we lost so much. We have no idea when he leaves Paris or when he will show up next, we need to kill him now. He needs to be shown that we are the ones in charge here. He made us look like idiots. His execution has been a long time coming."

"I will make the necessary arrangements" said LaRoshe.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved.


	4. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Logan woke up in the honeymoon sweet of the hotel exhausted. He looked over at his clock and saw it was 7:00 am Paris time. He looked over on the other side of him and saw a woman with long pink hair. She wasn't wearing anything and had a leg lying on top of the covers. If he were to ask, Lacus would say that last night was the best night of her life. Logan ran a hand over Lacus' leg and kissed his new wife. They had entered Paris using false passports courtesy of Cagalli and OSIS, Orb Secret Intelligence Service. They needed them because Logan was wanted fugitive from the Federation and Lacus did not want the PLANTS to know where she had gone. This was very easy considering very, very few people on Earth knew who Lacus Clyne was.

According to the official record, Josh Alexander and Maria Rivera would enter Paris with Orb passports. Then Thomas Stansfield and Michelle Dessler would check into the hotel, after two weeks Alexander and Rivera would again and go home to Orb. If all went according to plan, there would be no record of Logan and Lacus Mercer ever being in the Principality of Eurasia. Then two 18 year olds would make their life together.

Logan thought about that. Being 18. He had no idea when his birthday was. Lacus got the idea to celebrate it on the last week of January. She said, "Well, we know your going to be 18 sometime, why not know." Blue Cosmos, the people who trained him, had never bothered to tell him when his birthday was. They just trained him and said "We made him into a trained assassin now, I guess we did our jobs."

But Logan wondered how the general public would react if they knew the whole story. That covert Federation operative Logan Mercer first met PLANTS pop idol Lacus Clyne when she was captured by Federation solders. Logan had rescued her from being used as a hostage from a sociopathic executive officer. That they would latter meet again in her home. That Lacus showed Logan how to be a better person, and helped him steal her country's biggest military secret. Together they helped stop two factions of humanity, separated only by genes, from destroying one another. And months latter, him a natural, and she a genetically modified coordinator, would be together as husband and wife. Logan knew that people would be amazed. He put some boxers and athletic shorts on and walked into the living room of their sweet.

He walked over to the large window that over looked Paris, the city of lights and romance. He saw the Eifel tower climb in the sky and the Leuven museum's glass pyramid. Then he started thinking about himself and his current situation. He had done unspeakable things in the name of Blue Cosmos, the anti-coordinator organization that almost destroyed the PLANTS, a nation populated with nothing but coordinators. Assassinations, torture, demolition, he had done it all. He knew that what he did would be abhorrent to any civilized person. He killed innocent people, murdered men with families, murdered whole families, and ruined countless lives. He knew that he made up for it when he stopped the naturals and coordinators from wiping each other out. But he kept asking himself whether or not he deserved this. To have a wife, to be in Pairs, when he had robbed so many others from of that chance. If he asked Lacus or any of his friends this question, they would tell him that he did enough, but his soul told him different. He felt lost; he did not know how he should spend the rest of his life.

He sat down and turned on the TV. He turned it to an Federation news channel and saw an older woman being interviewed by a young anchorman.

"Madam President" said the man who the TV identified as Chase Edmunds, "many people have been upset with your policy with the PLANTS."

"And what policy would that be" said the woman. It was an older woman in her 50's with brown hair and blue eyes. She looked like someone's grandmother. It was the new President of the Atlantic Federation, Allison Taylor. "The reason I restored economic and diplomatic ties with the PLANTS was to create a lasting peace between our two nations. Something that would not be gained if we weren't speaking."

"But many PLANTS citizens and officials" said Edmunds "have been assassinated since they came here."

"Post hoc ergo propter hoc" replied the President.

"Excuse me" said Edmunds.

"It's Latin" explained the President "it means after, therefore, because of. It means that event A happened after event B. So event A was caused by event B. But that is almost never true."

"So" said the interviewer "are you saying that the assassinations were not caused by our decision to restore relations with the PLANTS. If that is the case what was it caused by."

"It caused by the something that caused our war with the PLANTS" said the President "selfish, evil, bigoted men are trying to eliminate people they don't like."

"So are you blaming the war on the Federation as a whole?" asked Edmunds.

"No" said Allison Taylor "I am blaming it on former President Noah Davis, Mutura Azrael and the rest of the last administration. Not the entire nation. When they let their hatred of coordinators over power their duty to protect the people of the Federation, when they fired missals at the PLANTS, they started a war that put everyone at risk. No one has done more to undermine our national security."

Logan always smiled when the President reminded the public how stupid his former employers were.

"So" asked Edmunds "you bare no ill will towards coordinators."

"I don't care" said the President "I honestly have more important things to worry about than something as un-important as genes. We all have more important things to worry about than the genetic code of your next door neighbor."

Logan knew that many political commentators felt that it was her common-sense approach to the coordinator issue that got her elected. Logan observed the last presidential election with great interest. After all, watching the people he used to work for drown in their own idiocy was always fun.

Allison Taylor was from New York. She was the Senate Minority Leader and was part of a vocal group of senators and congressmen that opposed the war. They had condemned the nuclear attack on Junious Seven as a unjustifiable act of mass murder. Taylor was then nominated as the Democratic candidate for President who would face of against the Republican incumbent Noah Davis. Her election at fist was deemed unlikely.

However, then the battle of Yachine Due happened, and the entire political landscape changed. Taylor had used Patrick Zala and his GENESIS cannon as the result of a pointless war instigated by the Davis administration. She had made a point that hatred of the coordinators would only lead to more violence, and that the only way for a peace between the sides could be reached is when they understand each other.

Then Blue Cosmos made a huge mistake. They came late in the campaign and called Allison Taylor a traitor and a threat to the survival of the Earth. So after the President attended a town hall event in LA, a bomb went off in the motorcade that would take her to LAX international airport. The blast killed Taylor's running mate, New Mexico Congressmen Matthew Santos. Not just him, but at least 20 other people and injured countless others. It was then the people realized just how little Blue Cosmos cared about the common people. All they carried about was expanding their crusade of intolerance. They rallied around Allison Taylor won her the election.

Logan couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation. After Taylor as elected was give the Blue Cosmos affiliates in her government their walking papers and had the State Department declare them a terrorist organization. The organization was now on the run. Since the attack was funded by Blue Cosmos, federal law allowed the entire organization to be outlawed. Anyone with any kind off connecting to them ran the risk of being indiced. Their influence in the Federation was now gone, all because of a car bomb they planted. During the election, anyone who had any kind of connection with the group was voted out of office.

"Changing the subject" said Edmunds on the television "you are meeting with PLANTS Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandel." Then the TV shut off. Lacus was standing behind the couch dressed in a bathrobe.

"Do you really need to watch the news on a honeymoon?" asked Lacus.

"I like to be informed" said Logan standing up. He walked over and gave his new wife a long passionate kiss.

"What's wrong?" asked Lacus as Logan broke away.

"Nothing" said Logan "what would make you think something was wrong."

"I can tell when something is bothering you" said Lacus.

"Really I'm fine" insisted Logan. He didn't want to discus his emotional turmoil on their honeymoon.

"This is about what you did two years ago, when you killed the ZAFT general and his family" said Lacus "you still haven't let go of what happened."

"You can't let go of stuff like that," said Logan.

"I think we should get ready," said Lacus. She walked into the bathroom and into the shower. Logan walked in and put on a pair of jeans and a sweeter. It was May, but it was still pretty chilly. Then Logan heard the pink ball from hell.

"Haro" said the accursed round machine "Haro." For some reason Lacus wanted to bring he pink Haro along on the honeymoon. Logan hated that thing. It always ruined their moments. He had asked Lacus three times to get rid of that thing, but Lacus was adamant that she didn't.

Lacus was in the shower, letting the warm water run over her body. She loved Logan, but she hated it when he got like this. When something started to bother him and he wouldn't talk about it, even though he knew when was the only way he would feel better. She knew Logan still needed help. But he wouldn't let her help him.

* * *

Dyson walked into a storeroom on the top floor of the hotel with a room service cart He was dressed in one of the idiotic hotel room service uniforms. He opened the cart and took out a small Frenchi PA3 shotgun. It was one of the smallest shotguns available. It only held two shells making it useless in a fight. But all Dyson was going to use it for was to blow open a door. The second shot will kill the victim. Simple, all too simple.

This latest assignment was humiliating. They ordered him to kill some random guy. The only other person who was with him was a woman. It took Dyson one look at the photo to know that she wouldn't be a problem. This was too easy. The past three kills they had sent him on had no challenge. Not even that last hit in Chicago. That dumb ass PSS agent didn't even put in much of a fight. No opponent was at his level. He was tired of killing people who had no chance to strike back. They gave him these skills; why not give him a chance to use them? All he wanted was to have some fun with the clueless people he was about to kill.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later she got out of the shower and put on a cream-colored turtleneck sweeter and a knee-length skirt. She saw Logan waiting for her on the couch.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah" said Lacus, then she looked downcast "I wish my father could have been there."

"I do too" said Logan. Lacus' father was Siegel Clyne. He was the former PLANTS Supreme Council Chairman. He had tried to make peace with the Earth Alliance in the first war but Patrick Zala had ousted him in an election. Latter Zala had had him assassinated. "I wish I had known him longer."

"He liked you" said Lacus "he told me himself. He said that 'if you want to leave Athrun I won't be mad. Love is a precious thing."

"Wait" said Logan "you knew even then that you were in love with me, but you didn't say anything."

"You didn't say anything ether" said Lacus.

"Well I'll say it now. I love you" Then Logan pulled her close and kissed her.

"If you keep this up" said Lacus, but Logan silenced her with another kiss, but she broke away again. "We will never get going."

"Where were you planning on going?" asked Logan.

"Well I was thinking we could go to the shopping district for a few hours and then get some lunch."

"You in a store for a few hours" said Logan "why don't you just throw me of the top of the Eifel Tower."

"It's the honeymoon Logan," chirped a smiling Lacus "no reason why we can't do both."

Then suddenly the door to their room blew in. And Dyson entered.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	5. We'll Always Have Paris

Logan knew what Dyson wanted right when he stepped into the room. It wasn't the shotgun that told him. It was the look in Dyson's eyes. The look in the eyes, told Logan that Dyson was on a mission of death. Dyson then leveled the shotgun at Logan. Logan grabbed Lacus and pushed the two of them out of the way before the assassin could pull the trigger. The pellets from the shell blew out the pink Haro, "Oh well" thought Logan.

Dyson threw the shotgun to the ground. Logan sprang up and shoved him against the wall of the room. Logan then punched Dyson in the face. Dyson pulled away and pulled out his Desert Eagle pistol. Logan struck Dyson's wrist and sent the gun flying. Logan was about to punch Dyson again but Dyson hit Logan in the shoulder stunning him. Then Dyson sent a kick to Logan's ribs. Logan went flying on top of the glass coffee table, shattering it into a million pieces.

Dyson darted over to Logan and kicked him in the face. Logan then brought his fists together and brought it down on to Dyson's knee. Logan got up and tackled Dyson sending them both on the couch. Dyson shoved Logan off of him and pushed him up against the opposite wall. This was what he was looking for, the challenge. This loser wasn't just going to lie down and die after all.

Then Logan grabbed a one of the paintings that decorated the room . He tore it off of the wall and smashed it against Dyson's head. Then Logan slammed his elbow into Dyson's face. Logan just wondered who this guy worked for. He knew ZAFT still was a bit sore about him killing their head of state. The Federation still wanted his head. But right now, all he needed to do was take this guy out. Logan punched Dyson in the stomach. Then Dyson struck out with his fist. But Logan deflected it with his arm. Logan then brought his knee to bear on Dyson's chest forcing to bend down. Then Logan hit his forearm on the back of Dyson's head.

Logan then put his arm around Dyson's neck and started to strangle him but then Dyson slammed his elbow into Logan's slide. Logan was forced backwards. Then Dyson pulled out a knife. He was about to cut Logan's neck, but Logan took hold of the wrist stopping the weapon. Then he tried to force the knife away. But Dyson was just as strong as Logan and the knife wasn't going anywhere. He forced Logan back against the wall. The knife was still stationary.

Lacus who was watching the struggle was terrified. She then got over her fear and decided to take action. She went over and picked up one of the glass shards from the broken table. She than ran over to Dyson and shoved it into his arm.

Dyson let out a scream. He let go of the knife and pulled the glass out of his arm. But as he did so, Logan ran over to Dyson's discarded pistol. Right as Dyson got the glass out, Logan aimed the weapon and fired two .44 Magnum rounds into Dyson's chest killing him instantly.

When the struggle was over, and the two just stood in place breathing heavily. "Who was that man?" asked Lacus.

"I don't know." said Logan "but we need to leave, now." He went down and looked at the body. Then he realized that the killer had a cell phone. He took it thinking that it might give him a clue.

Logan ran into the bedroom. He got some money, the passports, and some clothes for both him and Lacus, and put Lacus' cloths into one backpack. Logan then put some of his clothes into a messenger bag. He then he dug though one of the luggage and pulled out his Sig Sauer P226. He put one of the magazines and pulled back the slide to chamber one of the jacketed 9mm rounds. He then grabbed two more magazines and put them in his pocket.

He ran back into the living room, they then took Lacus and they went out. Then ran down the hall and into the emergency stair well. Logan had his Sig out scanning the stairway. The finally reached the ground floor. Then ran out the door and into the parking lot in the back of the hotel.

Logan saw that there was a lone man in a jacket. He motioned for Lacus to stay in the doorway. The man didn't see Logan but Logan could see the outline of a gun in the man's jacket. Logan walked up and hit the man in the head with the gun once, and again in the neck sending him to the ground.

Then Logan could see that there were two more people by their car, a red Mini-Cooper. Logan leveled his gun and shot them both in the head.

"Come on" he shouted to Lacus. Lacus ran over and the couple got into the car. Logan started the Mini-Cooper and tore out of the parking lot. The force of the car forced Lacus to the back of her seat. Logan pulled onto the main street and started driving. Cars swerved out of the way to avoid hitting the Mini-Cooper.

Logan checked his rear-view mirror and saw a man on a motorcycle fallowing them. The rider was dressed in all black. He gunned the engine and the car speed up. The motorcycle also speed up. Logan saw an ally way that was a block ahead of them. Logan turned into it. It was very narrow; the side mirrors were sheered off the side. There were sparks flying from were the walls of the alleys scraped against the car.

Logan checked his rear-view mirror and saw that the biker was still fallowing them. The biker than aimed his fully automatic Glock 18 and fired it. The bullets hit the rear of the car.

"Lacus keep your head down," shouted Logan. Lacus lowered her head and covered it with her hands. The bullets tore through the back of Lacus' seat. But because she was crouching she was unharmed. Logan also lowered his head just enough so he could see outside the window. The bullets passed through the seats and shattered the windshield. Then Logan saw the road the end of the ally. Then he got an idea.

When the car got out of the ally Logan turned the car until it was perpendicular the ally. Just as Logan expected, the biker didn't see the move coming. He stopped firing his Glock and tried to break. But it was to late. The bike rammed against car, flipping the bike forward and sending the rider into the right passenger window. Logan gunned the engine dragging the bicker until he fell out.

"Who are these people?" asked Lacus.

"PSS, CIA" guessed Logan "that assassin was highly skilled, government trained." Then Logan noticed a black SUV in his rear view mirror. The SUV tore forward and hit the Mini-Cooper in the rear. The impact dislodged the rear bumper. Logan speed up getting away from it, he could feel the bumper fall of the end of the car.

The sunroof of the SUV opened and a man with a AK-74 and fired at the Mini-Cooper, the bullets hit the back of cooper. The rear-window was completely shot out. Logan saw an inter section and had an idea. He went into it and turned the car until the left side was facing the SUV. Logan aimed his Sig out of the passenger window and the 9mm hit the man with the assault rifle.

Logan then gunned the car down a side street until he saw a parking garage. He climbed up the ramp to the next floor and turned. He tried to stop the car but the breaks wouldn't work. He was going to hit the wall.

"Lacus" he said "on the count of three we are going to jump out of this car."

"What" screamed Lacus "are you crazy?"

"One" said Logan "two, three." The two opened the car doors and jumped out, the fell to the concert floor of the parking lot. They watched as the car slammed against a wall.

"Well" said Lacus "this has been a unique honeymoon." Then they herd a car pull into the garage. Logan grabbed Lacus and pulled her behind some parked cars.

"Stay here" said Logan.

"Are you going to kill those people?" asked Lacus.

"I don't think I have a choice" said Logan. He ran from her and over to the opposite row.

He saw the SUV pull up and three men got out, they were armed with suppressed pistols and advanced towards the wracked mini-cooper.

Logan waited until the men passed his position. Then he sprang out and fired at one of the men. The other two saw Logan and fired their weapons. Logan ducked then he dived out from behind the car and fired two shots, each hit one man in the head.

Lacus got out from behind her hiding spot and looked shocked. This was the first time she had ever seen her husband kill anyone up close before. And it scared her. She knew Logan was a good man and she loved him. But knowing he had these abilities still put her on edge sometimes. "Lacus" said Logan "we have to leave here."

"You killed those men," she said.

Logan knelt down and put his hand on Lacus' cheek. "Lacus, I didn't have a choice they were here to kill us. I had to fight back."

"You could have disarmed them and run," said Lacus.

Logan could see that Lacus was really shaken "Listen, I don't have those kinds of options on the ground. This is the world I live in." Then he Logan grabbed Lacus and ran out the garage. Logan thought about what he just said. If this was the world he lived in, would he have to spend his live running from killers? If that was the case, did he have any right marrying Lacus at all?

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	6. The Usual Suspect

Major Olivia Taylor walked into the hotel room and saw the Paris Police process the crime scene. Olivia was short, she had reddish brown hair and bright blue eyes. She walked in with the two other Atlantic Federation solders. She walked over to the body when a large man with stark black hair waved them off.

"Hey you" he shouted "get out of here."

"Who are you?" demanded Olivia.

"I am Jacque Clocktuo Chief Detective" said the man. Then he saw Olivia's Federation uniform. "What does the Atlantic Federation want with us?"

"My name is Olivia Taylor, I have rite of access to the crime scene signed by the Chief of Police." Then Olivia handed Clocktuo a piece of paper. The detective read it over and groaned. Olivia wasn't surprised. Ever since the last war relations between Eurasia and the Atlantic Federation had grown more hostile. Many because the Federation grew more accepting of coordinators, and Eurasia was growing more intolerant of them. Blue Cosmos gave support to the ruling party in Eurasia.

"Who are you exactly?" he asked.

"I'm the head of the Atlantic Federation's Anti-Terrorism Division" said Olivia. The Anti-Terrorism Division was a special unit within the Federation's military with special responsibilities of investigating and preventing terrorist activities both inside and outside the Federation. They were the ones that lead the investigation into the car bomb and death of Matthew Santos.

Olivia Taylor had actually received a commendation for here exemplary performance on that assignment. But no one expected any less of her. The 19-year-old major had made quiet a name for herself. She was top of her class in Annapolis and completed the rigorous Special Forces training program at JOSU-A Alaska. During the war she was in charge of a Special Forces outfit that operated in Indonesia. Her and her 10-man team raised hell for ZAFT. She attacked armored columns, radar stations. But her greatest achievement was when her team and 20 Indonesian guerrillas attacked a airfield, completely destroying every mobile suit and building in the complex.

Taylor knelt down by Dyson's dead body and looked into his eyes. "Who is he?" asked Clocktuo.

"He killed the PLANTS Consulate General in Chicago two weeks ago," said Olivia.

"So who killed him?" asked Clocktuo.

"My guess" said Olivia "the target we was sent to kill fought back. And killed him.. So we have a dead assassin, a second assassin, and a live target."

"Second assassin?' asked the Detective.

"We have witness that indicate that there is a second killer. He blew up a shuttle carrying passengers from the PLANTS in Seattle. Do we know what killed him."

"A Desert Eagle chambered in .44 Magnum" said the detective "his own weapon."

"And we don't have a gun we can trace back to the target" said Olivia "Who is the room registered to."

"A Thomas Stansfield and a Michelle Dressler" said the detective.

"Probably false names" said Olivia.

She walked into the bathroom and started looking around. Then she saw what she was looking for. A man's stick of deodorant. She took out her smart-phone and scanned the stick with a green laser that emanated from device. The light scanned all of the fingerprints on the stick and saved them onto the phone's hard drive. Then she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Milo" she said.

"I'm here Olivia" said the man on the other line. Milo Desmond was the resident computer expert at the CIA Headquarters in Langley Virginia. Olivia had collaborated with Desmond on many occasions over the past year, and she insisted that he be with her on this investigation.

"Desmond" said Olivia as she typed commands into her smartphone "I'm sending you some fingerprints, I need you to cross reference them with TIDE." TIDE stood for Terrorist, Information, Data mart, Environment; it was the most expansive terrorist database in the world

Then another Federation solder walked in. It was Commander Derek Drake. Drake was Olivia's second in command and her most trusted friend.

"What did you find out?" she asked.

"Three more dead bodies in the parking lot" said Drake "two were shot in the head and another was killed up close. Then there is another body in an ally way not far from here. Doctors think that he hit something while traveling at high speeds. Then there is a guy on the street that was killed by two 9mm rounds and he an assault rifle. In a parking garage not too far from here, there are three more dead bodies and a wrecked Mini-Cooper."

"Do you think they're connected?" asked Olivia.

"Yes," said Drake "all of the witnesses say that the man with the assault rifle was in a SUV chasing a Mini-Cooper."

Then Olivia's cell phone rang again. "What is it?" she asked.

"We found some good prints" said Desmond "and I ran them through our system and they came back with a match."

"Who is it?" asked Olivia.

"I can't access it" said Desmond.

"What do you mean you can't access it?" said Olivia.

"After the computer registered a match I got a message" said Desmond "only person with Bravo Security clearance or above can access that file."

"Can you send it to my phone so I can open it?" asked Olivia, who was the only solder in the Paris outfit that had Bravo Security clearance.

"No" said Desmond "who ever this guy is he must be big. I can't send the file to a device that is not on Federation property."

"Okay" said Olivia "we're on our way back." She hung up and walked out with Drake and the other solders.

"One more thing?" asked Clockuo "would you happen to be related to Atlantic Federation President Allison Taylor?"

"She's my mother" said Olivia.

* * *

It took 10 minutes for Olivia and her party to arrive at their temporary command center at the Federation Embassy. They walked into the main entrance and continued down a hallway into the main ops center of the security wing. Olivia went to the largest desk and saw Milo.

"Desmond" she said "send the link to my office."

"Alright Live" said Desmond, and then he typed in a few commands and Olivia walked back into her office. Olivia walked into the room and sat at the desk. She logged onto her computer and accessed the link. Then Olivia saw a message that read, "Warning closed file, Bravo Security clearance required." Then blow the message she saw a space for her password.

She typed in her Bravo Security Password. Then the security message disappeared. And then she saw a file. The first page was a photo of an attractive 17-year-old male. Then she saw a message at the top of the page.

"Warning, extremely dangerous, approach with caution."

"Logan Mercer" she read allowed "wanted for murder, treason, theft of military equipment, unlawful use of mobile suit technology, last known activity battle of Yachine Due. Was a party of the theft of the Archangel Ship and suspected of the murder of Patrick Zala."

"Live?" asked Drake as he walked into her office "do we know who this guy is."

"I think he may be the second assassin" said Olivia.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	7. A Man For All Seasons

At 7:00, Logan and Lacus were sitting in the small cheep hotel room they had rented. The place was about as far out of the way you could get. They had used the Alexander and Rivera passports, so hopefully no one would find them.

They newly weds had first wondered the streets of Paris and then got something to eat at a small café. Then they had got a room in the ratty hotel and Lacus spent a few hours napping, while Logan had spent a few hours staring at a door with his Sig Sauer in hand. He hated being in this position. He hated being on the defensive. All of his years of training taught him to be on the attack. Hammer away at the enemy until they can't fight you any more. Then he mentally cursed himself for not interrogating one of the assassins. Then he remembered that he never got the chance to do so, but still it would have answered a lot of questions. Like who was after him. Logan's list of enemies was extensive. He had the CIA and the PSS, PLANTS Security Service after him. The Eurasian Office of Security, or ESO also had eyes out for him. Plus the Blue Cosmos and its off shoots had grudges against him and the pro-Zala terrorist groups that were active in the PLANTS.

Then he can to a stunning realization. He was stupid to come to Paris. He had too many enemies. He should have gone somewhere more unregulated then Eurasia. Then he began to wonder, "Was marring Lacus careless?" He did have enemies that would just have put Lacus in danger.

Lacus finally woke up and looked at him. "What time is it?" she asked.

"Around 7:00" said Logan.

"We didn't pay," said Lacus.

"Pay?" asked Logan.

"The hotel" said Lacus "and we left our luggage their to."

"Is this seriously the first thing on your mind" said Logan.

"I'm just saying," said Lacus.

"You are amazing," said Logan "A guy tries to kill us and you start thinking about our hotel bill."

"I just don't want to add theft of services to our rap sheet," said Lacus "I want to get my clothes out of that hotel."

"We'll figure something out," said Logan.

"Do you have any idea who that guy was" asked Lacus.

Then he remembered the man's cellphone. He took it out of his messenger bag and turned it on. He then scrolled down the menu until he found what he was looking for.

"What are you looking for?" asked Lacus.

"Text messages" said Logan.

"What" said Lacus. But Logan started to read the messages aloud.

"Okay" said Logan "At about 5am, the mystery guy called Dyson said 'what time should I do the new assignment' then his boss says 'in at least four hours' then Dyson asks 'what about Cinaver?"

"Eileen Cinaver?" asked Lacus. Eileen Cinaver was a close friend of her father's and was the interim Supreme Council Chairwoman after the death of Patrick Zala. She stepped down after the election of Gilbert Durandel.

"Yes" said Logan " Then the boss man says 'Conrad will take care of her at the opera tonight'."

"Opera" said Lacus then she took out her iPhone. She switched on the Wi-Fi and went on the BBC website. "She's the opera tonight at the Paris Opera house" she said "She is going to see a production of Tosca."

"Alright" said Logan. He walked over to his jacket and put it one. He then shoved his Sig Sauer in his paints. "I'm going to the Opera house and try to head off the assassin. Stay here. If you don't…"

"Wait" interrupted Lacus "are you going in their alone."

"Who are we going to call Lacus?" asked Logan "the police, they'll drag us into a station house and by the time they get them to believe us Cinaver will be dead. Do you want to call Cagalli? I doubt she will be in a position to help us."

"But that last assassin almost killed you" protested Lacus.

"All the more reason why I have to stop this Conrad" said Logan.

Lacus looked into her husband's eyes and saw something that she knew too well. That since of drive and determination, once Logan started something he would never stop.

He went for the door but turned to face Lacus. "I'll be back soon" then he kissed Lacus and walked out of the room.

He went down the stairs and exited the hotel. He hailed a cab and got in. "The Paris Opera house" said Logan "as fast as you can." Then he threw 100 Euros at the driver. The driver was so ecstatic he paid no attention to the speed limit as he drove at top speed to the Opera House.

It took 10 minutes for them to arrive. Then Logan exited the car. But as he got up, he brushed his jacket and the driver was able to see the but of a pistol in his paints. The driver was suddenly terrified. It was against the law to carry guns in the open in Eurasia. He took out his cell phone and called the police.

* * *

Inside the Federation Embassy, Olivia just finished reading all of the material her government had on Logan Mercer. And nearly all of it was unsettling. The man had been trained from birth to kill people, specifically coordinators. He was an expert gunman; in hand to hand fighting, and one of the best pilots the Federation had. He also had long psychiatric file, the doctors thought he was sociopath. He was a perfect candidate for the second assassin.

"What do you think?" asked Drake who was standing beside her.

"What am I supposed to think?" asked Olivia "he's a assassin, pilot, solder, talk about a man for all seasons. Look at his operational history. Assignments in Islamabad, Kabul, Tehran, Casablanca, Tel Aviv, Baghdad, Beirut, Tunis, Damascus, then finally the Archangel. He has killed dozens of people in the course of one year. Then finally he killed Patrick Zala."

"I mean for the second assassin" said Drake.

"It could be him," said Olivia "but then the question is raised, why would he kill his own partner?"

"This psych report should cover that" said Drake "look at this" then he pointed toward the screen. "Possible Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Is quick to anger and prone to hostility to those he considers adversaries. Instinctively distrustful. Uses sarcasm to annoy others for his own pleasure. The guy isn't stable."

"But that still leaves us with some questions" said Olivia "he defected from the Federation to Orb. It says in his file he was insubordinate and was very public in his hatred for the people he trained with. So according to you, he defected to Orb, then defected away from them, then kills his partner, that doesn't make any sense."

"So what do you want to do?" asked Drake.

"Whether or not he is the second assassin" said Olivia "he is still our only link to the mystery. We need to talk to him."

"And you can get him to talk" asked Drake.

"I have an idea" said Olivia.

Then the phone on Olivia's desk began to ring. "Guys" said Milo when Olivia picked it up. "I just got of the phone with a source I have in the Paris police. They just got a call from a taxi driver who says that a suspicious man just ran into the theater where Eileen Cinaver is going to see a play."

"So what?" asked Drake.

"The guy's description matches that of Logan Mercer" said Milo.

Olivia sprang into action. She pulled out her Kimber 1911 and put in her holster. "Drake" she ordered "get a team ready, where going to an opera."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved.


	8. Night at the Opera

Logan ran out of the taxi and into the main lobby of the Opera House. His heart was betting fast. His breathing was getting shorter. He loved this feeling it was like he had purpose again. Then he realized that this was he needed, purpose. Fighting as hard as he could to stop a group of terrorists. He loved this feeling. He never wanted it to go away. If he told Lacus that this is what he wanted to do. Run around the world stopping terrorists, she would have a fit. But the fact of the matter was Logan loved doing this.

He walked over to a gold painted plaque with a layout of the seats. Then he saw that there were theater boxes lining the perimeter of the theater. Cinaver was probably was one of those. "If she was in a theater box," he thought, "then were would I be." Then he remembered. "Catwalks" he said. Then he walked down a walkway. He didn't blend in much with the finely dressed crowed walking in. Then he saw the backstage entrance and walked in.

* * *

Conrad walked up in the catwalks until he found his mark. He was dressed as a construction worker. There were hundreds of them doing renovations on the theater. In one hand he carried a toolbox and in the other arm he held a brown paper bundle. If anyone asked, he said it would be parts for a new light but in fact it was a Remington M24 sniper rifle. He was going to use it to kill Eileen Cinaver.

Conrad did not know Cinaver, or why his boss wanted her dead. All he did know was what would happen if he did not carry out the assignment. His first time out he was sent to kill a man running for the PLANTS Supreme Council. When he got to his home, Conrad couldn't pull the trigger. When he went back to his safe house he told is boss that he would not kill him. After that, they took away medication that they had been giving him. It caused unimaginable pain. More pain then he had ever experienced. It felt like his insides were on fire. They told him that if he failed again they would do it again. Conrad then learned that he could never fail. Failing wasn't worth the pain.

* * *

Logan was easily able to slip past the security guard. All Logan said was that he was a friend of one of the actors. Logan ran down a hallway past some dressing rooms. Then he saw what he was looking for.

"Pay dirt" he said triumphantly. He opened the door and started climbing the stairs.

* * *

Conrad saw his target enter the theater box with two security guards. Conrad leveled the scope at her head. He had been through it a hundred times. "One bullet to the head" he thought, "no scream, the silencer and the music will cover the noise from the bullet."

Two black SUVs pulled up to the opera house. A squad of men in combat gear out of one fallowed Olivia inside. Drake got out of the second one and fallowed Olivia inside. Olivia ran to the ticket both and shouted at the woman. "Were is Cinaver," she demanded.

"Box five," said the terrified employee.

"Get a hold of her security detail" said Drake "tell them what's happening."

* * *

Conrad knelt down on the catwalk. In his position he had a clear view of Cinaver's head. Then the overture began. Conrad was about to fire, when he felt the cold barrel of a gun press against his neck. "Don't move," said a voice.

Conrad looked up, and saw Logan. Logan had his P226 pressed against Conrad's jugular vain. All it would take was one 9mm round to have Conrad's entire blood supply spill onto the floor of the walkway.

Conrad looked from Logan to his target. He could see that the guards were alerted to something. The grabbed Cinaver and ushered her out of the box. He needed to head them off in the lobby fast.

Conrad took the but of the rifle and swung it against Logan's arm. Logan dropped his gun on the floor of the catwalk. Conrad was about to punch Logan. But Logan blocked the incoming blow. Then he smashed the bottom of his palm against Conrad's solar plexus. But Conrad wasn't effected. He then took he head and propelled it at Logan's. Logan fell backwards and to the ground. Conrad took this opportunity and ran for the stairs.

Logan got back up quickly and ran after Conrad. But Conrad took out a Ruger P95 that was equipped with a sound suppressor. Logan ducked and Conrad fired but missed. Conrad then darted down the stairs.

Logan grabbed his Sig Sauer and ran after Conrad. He saw as Conrad reached the landing and ran out the door. He saw two men in commando gear walk towards him. He raised his pistol and fired two 9mm rounds into their heads. Then Logan opened the door and fired two rounds into Conrad's chest. Conrad fell backwards, but the rounds weren't enough to penetrate the Kevlar vest he was wearing underneath.

After Conrad regained his composure he fired back. Logan ducked behind a small alcove and the bullet hit one of the actors who were watching the action. The bullet went straight into the heart killing him instantly. Logan saw the man die, then he turned to Conrad and what he saw surprised him.

Conrad's eyes suddenly went wide. His mouth hung open in shock. Logan suddenly realized something. "He's guilty" he thought, "This is no hardened killer. He's like me. In more ways then one." Then Conrad started to run. Logan sprinted after him. Conrad went down the hall and through a door. This lead to another doorway. Logan was sprinting down the hallway after him. But another commando sprang out and pointed his submachine gun at him. Logan shoved the weapon away and kicked him in the shin then he punched the solder in the face. The solder bent forward towards Logan. Then Logan elbowed him on the back of the neck. The solder went down. Then Logan continued after the assassin.

Logan saw as the hall ended and saw a exit. Logan ran out and saw that the assassin was gone. He looked down both ends of the street and saw that the mark was in the wind.

He was about to turn around when he felt something collide against he back. Then thousands of volts electricity. The tazer attack forced him to the ground and his eyes closed.

* * *

Olivia walked over to the solder that had tazered Mercer. "Good work Private Flood," said Olivia. Then she turned to Drake who was standing next to him. "What is the status on Cinaver?"

"The security detail got her out of the theater" said Drake "they are on their way back to their hotel."

"Good" said Olivia then she walked over to Logan and turned him over with her foot. "Well, well, well, the great and glorious Logan Mercer." Then a one of the black SUVs and Logan was dragged to his feet. The put handcuffs on him and shoved him back into the van.

Olivia sat the passenger seat in on van while Drake was in the van in front. She knew that if she wanted to enlist Mercer's help she needed leverage. Then she got an inspired idea. She took out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"White House" said the woman on the other end.

"Hello Mrs. Laningham" said Olivia smiling "I need to have a word with my mother

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved.


	9. Call To Arms

Olivia was in one of the lowest levels of the Federation Embassy in Paris. She was standing in front of the two-way glass that looked into the interrogation room. Inside sat Logan Mercer. He was handcuffed to the chair and looking around the room. Then the door opened and Drake to the anti room and saw Olivia.

"How are we going to do this?" asked Drake.

"I'm going to talk to him," said Olivia as she went for the door.

"Wait," said Drake grabbing her arm "I don't think you should do it."

"Why?" asked Olivia.

"Mercer is a sociopath" insisted Drake "we need a professional interrogator to get in his head."

"I know how to get to him" argued Olivia.

"What you read his file and suddenly you're an expert?" demanded Drake.

"Logan Mercer likes to play games" said Olivia "if I can show Mercer that I can play his games just as well as he can, we might get somewhere. Plus we've got leverage."

"What kind of leverage?" asked Drake.

"Sit back and watch the master at work," said Olivia. She walk passed Drake and opened the door to the interrogation room. She saw Logan's eyes lock on her on her.

"Can you answer a question for me?" asked Logan "why do they always paint interrogation rooms this color." Olivia looked around the room was painted some strange granite colored.

"They say it produces this weird ominous feeling" said Olivia. Then she walked over to the chair and brushed some of her brown hair out of her face. Logan did notice that she was very attractive. Then she sat down and opened a file.

"Logan Mercer" she read "wanted for treason, attacking fellow solders, theft of Alliance equipment, and unlawful use of Alliance weapons. Before that you were an ace pilot, assassin, and elite solder. Your quite the Top Gun."

"Point of order" said Logan "I didn't actually steal anything from the Alliance, Romius took the Archangel on her own, and the Freedom and Justice were never yours to begin with."

"Well" said Olivia "they can only execute you once so I don't know how much that will matter."

Logan was impressed. This woman was skilled in verbal combat, almost as much as he was.

"I didn't catch your name" said Logan.

"Major Olivia Taylor, and before you ask President Taylor is my mother."

"Tell her congrats" said Logan.

Olivia didn't respond.

"Now that we have the introductions out of the way" said Logan "do you mind telling me why you brought me here."

"We want to know more about the men who attacked you" said Olivia.

"What" scoffed Logan "did the right arm suddenly not tell the left arm what she was doing."

"The Federation had nothing to do with the attempt on your life if that is what you're implying" said Olivia.

"Well you people do have a history of bending the rules" said Logan with a smug grin.

"Do you know who tried to kill you" asked Olivia in a harsh tone.

"Tell me do you people have anything better than to than to harass tourists" asked Logan.

"I asked you a question" snapped Olivia, she was quickly getting tired. But she couldn't lose her temper. If she lost her temper she would lose the ground she gained when she began.

"And ignored the question and moved on" said Logan as he snapped his fingers.

"Why were you in Paris" asked Olivia, she knew she wasn't going to get an answer to his first question.

Logan decided to tell the truth for this question. He knew the real answer would blow her mind. "Honeymoon" he said smugly.

Olivia looked at him as if he had just said that he was the Ester Bunny. "You know" said Olivia "you almost got me to believe you."

"Seriously" said Logan.

"Oh now you want to get serious" said Olivia. Then he tone suddenly serious and her voice got louder. "Fine let's get serious. Right now terrorists are planning to kill PLANTZ citizens." As she said this Olivia stood up and walked towards Logan.

"One question" said Logan "is the fake bravado and .45 strapped to your hip an attempt to compensate for the fact that your not one of the boys."

"I don't know" admitted Olivia with a smile as fake as her "bravado." "Is your sarcasm and bad jokes an attempt to compensate for the fact that you have little friends and no social skills."

Logan slumped back in his chair. He wasn't offended, he didn't expect Taylor to one up him like that.

"Now that I have you attention we can continue" said Olivia. She was rather pleased with herself. She was able to beat Mercer at his favorite game. Now she could get what he wanted. "I have the power to give you a deal signed by the President of the Atlantic Federation."

"What kind of deal" asked Logan.

Then Olivia laid out some photos on the table. "Two months ago" she said "Interstellar Flight 138 was destroyed by a bomb in Seattle. Most of the people are that flight was tourists from the PLANTS. Two weeks later, a supply fight in ZAFT's Carpentaria Base was destroyed by a Stinger missal. Three weeks after that the PLANTS Consulate General in Chicago is murdered. My team has been on their trail since the first attack. The President might be trying make everyone believe that the PLANTS are being patient, but in fact they are going insane. The peace conference that they are planning is going to be canceled if we don't find them. Our intelligence tells us that they are two assassins. They were trained to be like you, to fight like you, to think like you. You already killed one of the assassins. The deal is Top Gun, if you help us find the second terrorist, you will be awarded a full free and absolute pardon."

Logan was surprised. He knew that the President had the power to pardon anyone accused of a federal crime. But this lady was Federation. Lying was in her probably came as natural to her as breathing. " I have a question" Logan " why should I help you if I wanted to I could break out and you'll never see me again."

"Someone is trying to murder high profile coordinators" said Olivia "the PLANTS are going crazy. I know what you and your friends fought for during the last war. Someone is trying to destroy the peace you and your friends created. If you don't help us we will have nothing to look forward too but a long and destructive war. Peace will be gone. The peace that people like Mwu Laflaga died for."

Logan looked down at the mention of his dead friend. Mwu Laflaga was one of the best pilots in the Federation. He defected along with the rest of the Archangel crew to stop both sides from killing each other. He knew that his was his chance, and he needed to take it.

"So there is only one real question Logan Mercer" said Olivia "are you ready to save the world again?"

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved.


	10. Pursuit of Honor

Drake looked on at the interrogation with apparition. Then with surprise as Taylor engaged with bantering with Mercer, then with utter shock at the mention of the pardon. Olivia wasn't above using her mother's power to gain an advantage. But to go as far as to get a pardon was unexpected. Especially considering that she didn't consult him.

The door opened and Olivia and Logan walked out. "Who's the stiff?" asked Logan.

"Logan Mercer" said Olivia "this is Commander Derek Drake my second in command."

"Hello" said Logan.

"Can talk to you in private?" asked Drake as he took Olivia's arm.

"Nice to meet you to" said Logan.

Drake walked Olivia to a corner. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, "Mercer is a sociopath, we can't trust him."

"He knows these people" said Olivia "he was trained to think and act like them. He is the only chance we have at finding them."

"But a pardon?"

"I told you I had leverage," said Olivia.

"We don't even know if this guy has any useful intelligence," retorted Drake.

"Actually I do" said Logan.

"Were you eavesdropping?" asked an irritated Drake.

"Yeah" said Logan with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Do you realize how incredibly rude that is?" asked Olivia.

"Well considering I have no social skills" said Logan still smirking "I guess I didn't."

"Cute Commander" said Olivia "very cute."

"Commander?" asked Logan and Drake at the same time.

"Oh" said Olivia "I forgot to mention, you will be enlisted in the military as a part of this agreement. You will be a commander."

"Sweet" said Logan.

"And you will be operating under my direct supervision" said Olivia walking past Logan.

"And the hits just keep on coming" said Logan irritated.

A few minutes later Logan found himself in the back of an SUV being driven by Drake and Olivia in the passenger seat. He was in the back with two commandos with .45 caliber submachine guns.

"So what exactly is this intelligence," asked Drake.

"A cell phone" said Logan "I took if off the guy who tried to kill me. Can we turn on the radio?"

"No" said Drake. Then they pulled up the hotel Lacus was in.

"Stay in the car" said Logan. He climbed out of the car fallowed by the two commandos and Olivia.

"Go to the back and make sure he doesn't come without me."

The two commandos ran out of the SUV and down the ally to the back of the building.

"I thought I told you to stay inside," said Logan.

"I'm not letting you out of my site" said Olivia. Then she started walking to entrance to the hotel and into the main lobby. Logan fallowed behind her.

"So" asked Olivia "who are we going to meet."

"My wife" said Logan.

"Seriously"

"I'm not kidding you," said Logan as they walked to the elevator. Olivia had changed out her uniform and into a black shirt and paints. The elevator stopped and they stepped out. They walked down to the hall and to the last room on the left.

Logan knocked on the door, "It's me," he said. The door flew open and a pinked haired woman sprung out and hugged him. Olivia could hardly believe her eyes when she saw who it was. She knew from intelligence reports who this was.

"You're married to Lacus Clyne" she exclaimed. She had no idea someone that attractive and admired was desperate enough to marry a person with a psychological profile like Logan's.

"Told you I wasn't kidding," said Logan.

"Who is this?" asked Lacus.

"This is Major Olivia Taylor," said Logan "she's very pleased to meet you."

Logan went to the bags trying to dig out the cell phone. "So" said Olivia staring at Lacus "what's it like being married to, someone like that."

"It's not a problem," said Lacus smiling "I'm normal enough to compensate for him."

"I've got it," said Logan "Major, can I have a word with my wife in private."

"I'm fine here," said Olivia.

"Major, may you please leave the room so my wife and I can talk about you behind your back?" asked Logan.

Olivia groaned and walked out of the room. Lacus looked at her husband with worry.

"Logan" she said "what is going on?"

"I was caught the Paris Opera House" said Logan "Olivia is the daughter of President Allison Taylor. They are offering me a pardon if I can help them find the assassins."

"What do you mean?" asked Lacus.

"I was stupid to think that these people would leave us alone. They've been killing coordinators for the past few months. If we don't stop them, there could be another war. If I can help them they will give me a pardon and they will leave us alone. Once bring these people to justice we can be left alone."

Lacus looked into Logan's eyes. She knew her husband was an expert liar. But the one person he could never lie to was her. There was truth in what Logan said about them being left alone. But she could tell that it wasn't the real reason he was doing this. Logan needed to help the Federation for two reasons. One, if he refused he would be arrested for actions that saved the entire world. Second, was much more complex and had much greater consequences.

Lacus kissed him and rapped her arms around him. "Be careful" she said.

"Your not mad?" asked Logan.

"No" said Lacus "you need this." Lacus knew that Logan never really got over what he did when he worked for the Federation the first time. If he brought these people down, he would finally move on. He had found his purpose in life, to stop men like this. Who was she to deny him that?

Then Logan leaned in and kissed her. "Thanks for understanding" he said. Then he walked over to Lacus' bag and gave her a small pistol. "You need to get out of Paris. And I'm not leaving you without protection"

"What's the gun for?" asked Lacus.

"This is a Glock 26," said Logan "the round is already chambered. If you think for a second that anyone is coming after you, aim for the head or the center of the chest."

"Okay" said Lacus "I'll…"

"No" interrupted Logan "don't tell me. Then they can't make me tell them where you are."

"You don't trust them do you?" asked Lacus.

"No" then Logan kissed Lacus again "I love you." Then he walked out of the room. He meet up with Olivia and the walked to the elevator.

"How long have you been married" asked Olivia.

"Two weeks" said Logan "if you tell anyone about this I will kill you."

"Threatening the boss" said Olivia "that's one way to help you case."

Back at the embassy, Logan took the cell phone to the tech station with Olivia. "Commander" said Olivia "this is Miles Desmond."

"You have the phone," asked Desmond.

"Here" said Logan handing the device to the computer wiz.

"Great" said Desmond "so what do you want me to trace on this."

"Can you find were in the city the last text was sent?" asked Logan.

"Of course" said Desmond "it will just take me a few minutes."

"In the meantime" said Olivia "Logan, you and me need to settle a few things."

Logan looked into her eyes, and knew right away what she meant. "No" he said firmly.

"Yes" said Olivia.

"No" repeated Logan.

"You're a solder of the Federation," said Olivia "you might as well dress like one." Then she took Logan down to her office. "I have a spare uniform inside."

Logan walked in. A minute latter he came out again warring a white Federation uniform. "This looks like a Halloween costume," said Logan.

"Your ridicules quest to get out of wearing the uniform is ridicules," said Olivia.

"You just called me ridicules twice in the same sentence" said Logan.

"That will hardly be a record for me" remarked Olivia "besides they aren't that bad." Then Logan gave her a serious sideways look. "Okay there pretty bad" Olivia admitted.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	11. Mr Mercer Goes to Washington

Henri LaRoshe was having quite possible the worst day of his life. His contact in the Paris Police had phoned him early that afternoon to inform him that Dyson was killed. Then he had herd on the news that they was some kind of car chase in the city that resulted in the deaths of eight people. After hearing that news LaRoshe found out that those people killed where the men in the kill squad.

His only possible silver lining was the successful hit on Eileen Cinaver. But then he discovered on the news that there was an attempted hit on Cinaver in the theater. But the bitch had somehow made it out alive. Now he had the unfortunate task of calling Azrael and telling him about this fiasco.

"You imbecile!" cried Azrael on the phone "Do you know what you have done!"

"Mr… Mr. Azrael" stammered LaRoshe "I don't think this is as bad as you think it is."

"Oh really" sneered Azrael "you know Mercer as well as I do. He is going to find out who sent Dyson. And when he finds out he is going to hunt them down and kill them."

* * *

Logan, Olivia, and Drake were sat outside the SUV's surrounded by solders. They were parked a block away from were Desmond had traced the text messages. It was a house in one the suburbs of Paris. "Alright" said Olivia "once the flash bang goes off we will storm in the front."

"A second team will storm the back of the house to cut of their escape route," said Logan.

"Excuse me," said Olivia "I'm your commanding officer Commander Mercer."

"Watch now as she puts me down and makes my point at the same time" said Logan smirking at the solders. The men themselves were feeling a little hesitant as they watched the two commanders start to battle it out.

"If you want to give the orders" said Olivia "go ahead."

"Alright" said Logan "the first part of the plan stays the same, flash bang through the front, then we storm the place. I will lead a second team that will take the back the house. A sniper on the opposite rooftop armed with a tranquilizer rifle will take out anyone trying to escape outside the side windows."

"Alright" said Olivia "he has a good plan."

"So ma'am" said one of the solders "are we going with Commander Mercer's plan?"

"Sure" said Olivia was a defeated look in her eye. Logan was about to walk back to the SUV. But then Drake stopped him.

"What the hell as that back there" asked Drake harshly.

"I little verbal jousting" said Logan "I suggest you try it some time, it's really fun."

"That was inappropriate, unprofessional, and bordering on insubordinate," snapped Drake "I order you not to do anything like that again."

"Quite frankly" said Logan coldly "I don't see where you get the authority to order me to the men's room, Commander Drake."

* * *

Meanwhile, LaRoshe was still on the phone with Azrael. "Sir" he said, "Conrad is still alive, he is on his way to the next target. We can still manage."

"Did Dyson carry anything that might lead the Federation to you?" asked Azrael.

"I don't think so" said LaRoshe confused.

"You think or you know?" Azrael shouted back "because I have it on good authority that he may have found something."

"Good authority from who?" asked LaRoshe.

"My source in the Anti-Terrorism Division" snapped Azrael "my suggestion to you, get out of there. If Logan gets his hands on you it won't be pretty."

"You have a source in the Anti-Terrorism Division" asked LaRoshe shocked. Then he heard his window in the front of the house he was using shatter. Then the door shattered. Some of the men in the front started screaming.

Then two other men ran in to LaRoshe's study ran in armed with submachine guns. "Someone is here" he said. LaRoshe grabbed his Makarov pistol from his desk and ran to the kitchen. Then he ran out of the back door into the yard. Then he saw three men standing near the fence. One of the men fired his Heckler and Koch MP5K. But he was cut down by cut down by the ammunition from the M4 assault rifles.

The other man raised his own pistol but he was also shot down by the solders as they advanced. LaRoshe ran down the driveway while firing his Makarov. But the 9x18mm rounds couldn't penetrate the tactical vests of the men. So he just kept running.

However LaRoshe was not in the finniest shape. He did have a bit of a gut. One of the solders ran up behind him and stuck him in the back of the head knocking him out.

* * *

Logan took of his balaclava and looked at the man he just knocked out. He rolled the man over with his foot and looked at him. "Henri LaRoshe" he said "long time no see."

"What happened?" asked Olivia running over to Logan.

"Our first break in the case" said Logan.

"Who is this?" asked Olivia.

"Henri LaRoshe" said Logan "he worked for Blue Cosmos. He did logistics, gathered equipment, he was my main point of contact when I was on assignment."

"How much does he know?" asked Olivia.

"He knows enough," said Logan.

* * *

Later that night, Derek Drake was looking through the one-way glass of the interrogation room. Henri LaRoshe was asleep in a chair, in a room with only a table and another chair at the opposite end for furniture. He was about to walk in when the door to the waiting room opened Logan walked in.

"Watch' a doin'" asked Logan in a high-pitched voice.

"I'm getting ready to interrogate the detainee," said a scowling Drake "now leave me alone."

"You interrogate LaRoshe?" said Logan. Then he gave out a small chuckle "Don't make me laugh."

"Then who do you propose should interrogate him" snapped Drake "you?"

"Not a bad idea" said Logan.

"You must be joking," said Drake "how are you going to interrogate him?"

"I'm going to employ some tactics they didn't teach you at Annapolis" said Logan smirking. For all of Blue Cosmos' faults they did teach him some useful things. How fight, how to tell when someone was lying, how to scare the hell out of someone. All of them would be put to good use. Especcially considering LaRoshe was a fucking coward.

"Oh my god" said Drake "I know what you are going to do. I want you to know right now, that I will not allow you to try anything. That man has rights. I will allow you to touch him. I..."

"I'll tell you what," said Logan "I'll just start the interrogation, you can just keep talking it will be like I never left." Then he opened the door to the interrogation room and stepped in.

He walked over to the empty chair and picked it up. Then he brought it back down with a thud and yelled. "Wake up you sack of shit."

LaRoshe opened his eyes. Then they went wide is shock. "Yo….You" he stammered.

"Hey LaRoshe" said Logan "I see that your weight problem is still persisting."

"Help" screamed LaRoshe "help, this main is insane."

"Scream all you want Henri" said Logan bending over "I work for them, no one is going to help you."

"You work for them?" asked LaRoshe astonished.

"I know," said Logan "me, Logan, I don't listen to anyone so fuck you, Mercer, working for the Atlantic Federation. It's like you've stepped into another world."

"What do you want?" LaRoshe screamed.

"I want to know how you found me" said Logan slowly encroaching.

"I got your photo from the airport" whimpered LaRoshe.

"From where?" asked Logan.

"I have a contact in the ESO" said LaRoshe "he gave me the photo. He knew that we were looking for you."

"So you sent Dyson" asked Logan.

"Yes" said LaRoshe.

"Where is the second assassin" demanded Logan still inching closer.

"I don't know" said LaRoshe "I wasn't told."

"Do you want me to start hitting you?" shouted Logan. LaRoshe was lying though his teeth.

"No" whimpered LaRoshe.

"Then tell me where the second assassin is?" screamed Logan.

" His name is Conrad. He is on his way to Washington DC" yelped LaRoshe. Logan could see the fear in his eyes and the tears start to form. Logan thought that LaRoshe believed he was an inch away from being beaten.

"What's the target" asked Logan. Then LaRoshe suddenly clamed up. Logan kicked the chair out from under him and LaRoshe fell the ground. "Tell me the target or I will kick your unusually large ass from here to Leon."

"The PLANTS Embassy on Pennsylvania Avenue" sobbed LaRoshe "he is going to be disguised as a janitor and plant the bomb."

"Who's in charge" asked Logan.

"What" asked LaRoshe.

"Who's giving you your orders?" asked Logan.

"No one" said LaRoshe "I'm in charge."

"You're lair" screamed Logan. He advanced and LaRoshe backed into a corner. "You're a lair" Logan screamed again "you're a lair and your fucking stupid."

"I am not lying" insisted LaRoshe. But the thing was LaRoshe was a terrible lair and Logan had been had by much better.

"If you not lying" said Logan "they why did you just tell me a few minutes ago that you didn't know where Conrad was. And that people are transporting him to DC, this whole thing woud only have gone down on your orders, that is unless you are in charge." Then Logan grabbed the chair and made a jabbing motion with it at LaRoshe. "Tell me his name."

"Azrael" screamed LaRoshe "Mutura Azrael."

Logan dropped the chair. Mutura Azrael, the Great Satan, was the name of the leader of Blue Cosmos and his oldest enemy. Azrael was a sociopath who was determined to destroy every coordinator he could find. And he didn't care how many people died so he could fulfill that goal. That meant that these assassinations had to be part of some greater scheme.

Logan walked out of the room and saw Drake. "What the hell was that" he demanded. Drake got up in Logan's face. "That was this close" he said holding his fingers a millimeter a part "to coercion."

"Well" said Logan "this close only matters in horseshoes so I think we're in the clear."

"Don't you get it" snapped Drake "the prisoner has rights. You can't go around pulling shit like this."

"That man" said Logan pointing to the one-way glass "took part in the deaths of dozens of innocent people. But we need to worry about his rights because their more important than getting justice for the people he killed."

"We are trying to bring them to justice" snapped Drake "that is why we have laws and courts. But oh I forgot. Your just going to hunt them down and kill them like the maniac you are."

"You don't get it" said Logan "right now you are fighting an enemy that doesn't have rules. Before you just fought ZAFT. They were solders, they had armies and uniforms. Right now your fighting ghosts. They come out in the night and strike when you least expect. You have to fight them the only way you can. Down in the gutter where the scum live. If you wait around and do it like your walking a beat like some cop, you run the risk of someone dying."

"So that gives you the right to run around and break whatever law you want?" shouted Drake.

"That gives me the right to protect the people their targeting" snapped Mercer "If you went in their the PLANTS Embassy would have already blown up by the time you got anything useful."

"Spoken like a true psychopath" said Drake.

"Screw you" said Logan "If you don't understand what you need to do to fight terrorism then I suggest you find another line of work."

Then the door opened and Olivia walked in. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Mercer came this close to torturing LaRoshe" said Drake.

"Look" said Logan "I took the lead on the interrogation because I knew LaRoshe. I know that he is scared to death of me. If I could make him think that I was willing to beat him to a pulp, then he would sing. I didn't need to touch him."

"What would you have done if he didn't talk?" asked Drake.

"I would have proceeded as the situation dictated" said Logan.

"You see what I mean" said Drake "the man isn't stable."

"Effective tactic" said Olivia "use the threat of force…"

"can be more effective than force itself" said Logan.

"Interrogation 101" said Olivia.

"I can't believe your defending him" shouted Drake.

"I'm not defending Mercer" said Olivia "I'm defending a good idea. Did we get anything."

"The target is in DC" said Logan "he PLANTS Embassy."

"Alright" said Olivia "let's get rolling."

"Wait" said Drake "Olivia can I talk to you for a minute." Logan walked out and Drake stepped closer to Olivia. "This guy needs to go" he said "he runs the risk of jeopardizing everything."

"I herd most of your argument" said Olivia "and Logan's right. You fight the way he does to win. That's we brought him onboard. Because he knows how the operate and how to beat them. This more important than you feel is right and wrong. This about saving lives and stopping another long and destructive war."

Than Olivia walked out and saw Logan. "You did good in there"

"Oh" said Logan "a complement, if only I had witnesses and video cameras."

"Don't get too used to them" said Olivia "but seriously, this is the biggest break we've had yet."

"Seriously"

"Yeah" sighed Olivia "last time I got this close was Seattle. We traced them to an apartment, but when got there, it was cleaned out."

"Did they know you were coming?" asked Logan.

"How would they know that?" asked Olivia.

"Blue Cosmos had a lot of influence" said Logan "it would be impossible to…"

"I don't like where this is going" snapped Olivia, suddenly angry "there is not a dirty solder on my squad."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	12. The Third Option

Logan sat in the pack of the passenger jet. Him, Olivia, and the rest of the team had just left Paris 10 minutes ago, via the Gulfstream jet. It would take about 6 hours to reach DC. Olivia already called the FBI to alert them to the situation. Logan was sitting in the back row looking out the window. Then Olivia plopped right next him.

"Hello" he said, "can I please have some privacy."

"I already told you," said Olivia "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

"Already succumbed to my irresistible charm?" asked Logan smugly.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have an overly inflated opinion of yourself?" asked Olivia.

"Oh come on" said Logan smugly "I saw jealous look on your face the second you first saw Lacus."

"First of all" said Olivia "It wasn't jealousy, it surprise that someone as beautiful and popular as Lacus Clyne."

"Lacus Mercer" Logan reminded.

"Whatever" replied Olivia "that someone as beautiful and popular as Lacus settled for an assassin who very purpose is to kill people like her."

"Almost as surprising as Hawk of Endimon being the son of Rau La Creuset."

"What" said Olivia surprised?

"Mwu Lalfaga" said Logan "the…"

"I know who these people are" Olivia cut in.

"Well apparently, Rau La Creuset is the clone of his father. This was as payment to a man named Hibiki who was a geneticist. He latter tried to create…"

"This sounds like a long, incomprehensible, and scarcely believable story," commented Olivia.

"Yeah I said the same thing," said Logan.

Then Drake walked up to their seat. "Olivia" he said "did you."

"Yes mom" Olivia said sarcastically "I did take the medication."

"What medication?" asked Logan.

"I'm a diabetic" said Olivia "not that it was any of your business."

"Then why did you tell me?" asked Logan.

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Olivia "why did you take our deal?"

"You didn't answer my question" said Logan.

"I'm your superior officer" said Olivia.

"Since when has that ever mattered to me?" asked Logan.

"Just answer the question" said Olivia.

"I wanted the pardon" said Logan.

"I pride myself on my ability to detect BS" said Olivia " You had three options. Option 1, take the deal. Option 2, don't take the deal and go to jail. Option 3, you could have broken out when we were at your hotel. You could have killed me. The two commandos in the back would have been no problem. With your resources you and your wife could have vanished. You could have, I don't know, become a shepherded living in Argentina or something."

"Seriously" said Logan giggling "yeah me in a white shirt and a messenger back with two semi-automatic pistols, and brown paints."

"I don't know why you would giggle at something like that" said Olivia.

"Do you want the truth?" asked Logan.

"No" said Olivia "I want you to lie to me."

"The truth is I genuinely wanted to help" said Logan "ever since the last war ended, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Do you know what I did when I was working for Blue Cosmos?"

"Yes" said Olivia.

"I tried to redeem myself for what I did" said Logan "If I ask any of my friends they will say I did. But I never thought so. Ever since the last war ended I felt like I was walking through a fog, like I was supposed to be doing something but I didn't know what. When I was in Paris, I felt happy, complete, like I finally had purpose. It euphoric. It's like I'm high or something."

"That is a very strange analogy that I am going to ignore" said Olivia "Tell me something do you love this feeling you have."

"Absolutely" said Logan.

"Do you want to keep doing this?" asked Olivia "fighting terrorism."

"I would like to" said Logan "but I got married."

"Do you love Lacus" asked Olivia?

"Of course I do" said Logan.

"Do you feel 'high' when you're around her" asked Olivia.

"Yeah" said Logan.

"So I guess the question is" said Olivia "what do you love more, Lacus, or the feeling you get when you fight terrorism."

"I didn't know the two were mutually exclusive" said Logan "besides after this I'm done, I'm going to settle down with my wife."

"Really" said Olivia surprised.

"What?" asked Logan.

"It's just" said Olivia "you don't seem like the type of person who walks away when you see people in danger."

"I'm not" said Logan "but I'm married. I have responsibilities now."

"Shame" said Olivia "he could really use a man like you."

"Why did you join the military" asked Logan "try to impress mommy."

"I was going to tell you if you were serious" said Olivia "but since you are just making fun of me, you wallow in your ignorance." Then she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

Logan looked at Olivia. He couldn't deny that she was a very attractive woman. With her soft skin, light brown hair, and her dark blue eyes. He also did enjoy talking with her. She funny and the verbal combat never got old. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	13. Capitol Crime

The jet landed at Andrews Air force base in Prince George's County Maryland. The base was most famous for the main storage area for the Air Force One, the presidential plane. Only eight miles from Washington DC, it was an ideal landing choice.

When the landing gear touched the tarmac, Logan, Olivia, and their team climbed into the back of three black SUVs. They tore out of the base at top speed. Their cars had flashing lights in the front grill and sirens so the cars on the main freeways stayed out of their way.

Logan sat in the back of the lead car, with Drake driving and Olivia in shotgun. Olivia took out her cell phone and dialed the number. She put the phone to her ear and started talking. "Hello" she said, and then she listened to the person on the other end. As she heard the voice, her face showed growing frustration. "Are you kidding?" she asked, "please just tell me your kidding."

"What's happening?" asked Drake.

"Fine" snapped Olivia, and then she ended the call. "That was Special Agent Mike Doyle from the FBI."

"Dose he have an update on the situation in the embassy" asked Logan.

"Yeah" said Olivia "but none of it was good."

* * *

The PLANTS Embassy was located on 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, right next door to the Newseum and within the eye of the Federation Capitol Building. The State Department under the administration of Alison Taylor gave the Embassy, close proximity to the seat of the Federation's government would serve as a clear sign of good will.

Conrad walked down the main stairway of the building. The Paris mission had been a complete failure. LaRoshe had thrown him into the back of a CH-130 transport plan bound for Dulles International Airport. As per orders, his wasn't given Gama Glyflection for three hours. That intense burning pain consumed his body for what felt like an eternity. That experience reminded him why he could not fail.

The plan was simple; his cell phone had a small amount of semtex explosive. Semtex was one of the most powerful plastic explosives on the planet. Despite its small size it had a powerful punch. The explosion itself didn't have the power to do any significant damage to the building. However, if the explosion caused a chain reaction, like triggering a larger explosion, there could cause real damage.

That was Conrad's plan. Use the cell phone bomb to detonate the diesel fuel in basement. That would cause a massive blast that would bring the building down on top of itself.

But the more Conrad thought about it, the more he wondered why he was doing this. The men who gave him orders told him that this whole campaign was to destroy coordinators. "They are monsters" they cried, "They are abominations that seek to destroy all naturals."

But Conrad was pretty good at reading people, and he didn't think that they were going to destroy naturals. Even that woman he was sent to kill preached peace with naturals. But LaRoshe had merely said "the ones who pretend to be our friends are far more dangerous the ones who admit they're our enemies."

Then Conrad realized something else "the Newseum" he thought, "hundreds of people are there." The Newseum was a major DC tourist attraction, celebrating the history of Federation journalism. They had thousands of visitors a day, and today they were opening a new exhibit on covering the Bloody Valentine War. There was bound to be more people. And the embassy was connected to the building. There was no way it could escape the blast.

And the streets were bound to be effected. The streets of DC were the most crowded in the entire country. The blast was bound not only to kill coordinators but naturals as well. But he couldn't. The only way for him to escape the pain was to do what he was told.

* * *

The convoy of black SUVs parked on the left side of the Verizon Center, across the street to the National Air and Space Museum. Logan Olivia and Drake walked up next to another convoy of SUV's. Men with blond hair and bulletproof vest emblazoned with "FBI" walked up to them.

"Mike Doyle" he said shaking Olivia's hand.

"What's the situation?" asked Olivia.

"We told the embassy what is happening" said Doyle "but they refuse to evacuate the building."

"Why?" asked Logan.

"The embassy director will only talk to the person in charge" said Doyle.

Olivia took the Kimber 1911 out of her holster and put it in the car. "Drake, Mercer" she said, "you're with me." Logan and Drake discarded their weapons and walked across Verizon Center and across and the street to the embassy. They walked up the stairs and into the main lobby.

The three Federation solders were faced with a lot of angry looking ZAFT solders. Half of them were armed with Heckler and Koch MP7A1 submachine guns, and the other half were armed with G36C assault rifles. In the center was a short little man with a stern expression on his face.

"My name is Morris O'Brian" said the man "and will someone please tell me why the Federation's FBI was demanding I evacuate my embassy."

"My name is Major Olivia Taylor. I am the head of the Federation's Anti-Terrorism Division. Our team has been investigating the series of terrorist acts directed against your nation."

"To little avail I might add" said O'Brian.

"Well we have had a break in the case" said Drake "we have apprehended one of the leaders of this conspiracy. We have reason to believe that one of the terrorists have infiltrated the building and is planning to attack it."

"Where is this man you've apprehended," asked O'Brian "our troops need to speak with him."

"I'm afraid that is not possible," said Olivia "he is in our custody."

"Well" said O'Brian "I'm afraid I cannot evacuate this embassy on the word of a Federation officer."

"Sir" said Logan "a terrorist is inside your building. We don't have time to play diplomatic games here."

"This is not a diplomatic game," said O'Brian "all I have is your word. And given your nations history of aggression against the PLANTS, and your lack of leads in this most recent terrorist crisis makes it hard for me to believe you."

"Listen you little man" snapped Logan.

"Enough" shouted O'Brian "you all have to leave." Logan then eyed something on the opposite wall, something that might do the trick.

"Sir" insisted Olivia " we have refutable evidence."

"Evidence is precisely what you lack," snapped O'Brian "this has gone far enough…"

Then a loud siren shrieked throughout the entire base. An electronic voice cried "Emergency, emergency, emergency, an emergency has been reported in this building. Please exit the building, do not use elevators."

"What the hell is going on," shouted O'Brian.

"The fire alarm" shouted Logan " I just pulled it, now you have evacuate the building."

"I don't think so," said O'Brian.

"Sir" said ZAFT solder, clad in a black uniform. The black uniform signified that the solder was either a commander or a captain. "I actually need to evacuate the building."

"But it is a false alarm" cried O'Brian.

"That doesn't matter," said the solder "when ever the fire alarm is sounded I have to evacuate the building."

"Sir" said Olivia "you usher everyone out the front entrance. Mercer will be in a car observing the front stairs."

"Why" asked Drake.

"Mercer is the only one who has seen the assassin" said Olivia "he is the only one of us who can ID him." Then the three of them walked out of the embassy. Then Olivia turned to whisper in Logan's ear. "That was genius" said Olivia "I mean that was insanely genius."

"Everyone" cried Logan on the sidewalk "Major Taylor has complemented me for a second time today."

"Now you're just being obnoxious," said Olivia.

* * *

Conrad was on edge. He heard the fire alarm and didn't know what to do. He reasoned that he should carry on with the mission. Not doing so would earn him another torture session. He was about to continue down the stairs when a ZAFT solder stopped him.

"Hey" he said, "you need to come up here, we are evacuating the building."

"But I really need to finish this thing" said Conrad.

"Do it when you come back" said the solder "your boss will understand."

Conrad knew his bosses wouldn't understand. But on the bright side this unwelcome development didn't abort the mission, just delayed it. But that in turn caused it's own problems. The longer he was undercover, the greater the chances he would be discovered and killed. He just had to be more careful and remain as inconspicuous as possible.

* * *

Logan was waiting with Olivia and Drake in the black SUV that was parked in front of the embassy. There were other FBI agents in plain cloths were across the street and on the sidewalk.

So far it took ten minutes and the building was still not fully evacuated. Logan had scanned the faces of the embassy workers and he did not see the killer.

"Waiting's a bitch," said Olivia "I remember during special forces training in Alaska, we did this stealth exercise. We needed to cross this area; it was something like five miles. We need to crawl across it. But the thing was there were snipers in towers all around the tower. So we needed to crawl super slow so we didn't get shot."

"How long did it take you to complete the exercise?" asked Drake.

"I came in 4th out of 30" said Olivia "which meant that it took about 25 hours."

"Were you cold" asked Logan.

"During an Alaskan winter" asked Olivia "no why do you ask."

Then Logan saw him. It was the exact same face that he saw at the Paris Opera House. "That's him," said Logan.

"Are you sure" asked Drake "I mean you only saw him for a second."

"It's him I'm sure" said Logan. He got out of the car fallowed by Drake and Olivia. All three of them were wearing bulletproof vests. Then Drake started walking faster then his partners. He then broke into a jog and pulled out his Berretta PX4 Storm.

"Hey" he shouted pointing his weapon at Conrad. Conrad saw the sidearm and pulled out his 9mm Ruger. He fired two shots and Drake was sent to the ground.

"Drake" cried Olivia. She rushed to her friend's side and Logan sprinted after the killer.

"Olivia" said Drake "stop the assassin."

Conrad crossed the street and entered the Verizon center with Logan hot on his tail. Conrad passed the fountain and ran to the sidewalk. But Logan was going to catch up. Then he saw black SUV and police cars come on either side of the street. Then he crossed so he was on the sideway facing the Air and Space Museum. Then he grabbed one of the pedestrians and held a gun to her neck.

Logan stopped on the street and held his Sig Sauer on the terrorist and his hostage.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	14. Double Agent

Logan was completely out of his depth. As skilled as he was, hostage negotiation was not one of his strengths. But he had a felling that it maybe possible that he could get through to Conrad. He wasn't some heartless killer, like Logan, he was forced into committing assassination. If Logan can get through to him, he could get Conrad to let the girl go and turn himself in.

"Listen," said Logan "I know things seem out of control right now. But this isn't the way to fix anything. You need to let the woman go."

"Why" shouted Conrad "so you can shoot me?"

"Conrad right?" asked Logan. Conrad nodded. "I'm not going to shoot you" Logan promised, "see." Then Logan put down his Sig Sauer and kicked it away from him. The FBI SWAT team looked on with shocked looks.

"What the hell is he doing?" demanded Doyle. He was standing behind one the SUV's that had parked on either side of the street. Olivia had run over to him with Drake right behind her.

"Is he trying to talk the assassin down?" asked Olivia.

"I think so," said Doyle.

"You need to get him out of there" said Drake "if you let this go on we'll wind up with a dead hostage."

"I think we should give him more credit," said Olivia "I want to see how this plays out."

* * *

Logan looked straight at Conrad. "I'm not going to shoot you" he reiterated "and I can help you."

Conrad gave a small chuckle "how can you help me?"

"I know that blowing up embassies and killing foreign dignitaries isn't exactly your idea of a good time," said Logan "I can help you get out."

"There is no out from what I'm in," said Conrad.

"Your wrong" said Logan "I was in Blue Cosmos, I got out. You can to."

"And what" demanded Conrad "get my ass executed for all the stuff they made me do."

"You were forced to do the things you did" Logan reassured "the Federation and the PLANTS will see that. They won't want to punish you. It's your boss, and the people who did this to you. That's who they want. And you can help us catch them."

"You don't understand," shouted Conrad "they have something I need."

"What ever it is" said Logan "I promise I can get it for you."

"But…" said Conrad.

"Are they threatening you?" asked Logan.

Conrad nodded. "I swear, what ever they are threatening you with. It is nothing compared to what you will feel if you keep working for them. Whatever they have that you need I can get it. Just the gun down and let the woman go."

Conrad thought for a minute. Logan did seem sincere. But was he really able to deliver on any thing he promised. Conrad thought and decided it was the only chance he was going to get. He let go of the woman, dropped the gun, and put his hands in the air.

Solder's from the Anti-Terrorism Division rushed him and put handcuffs behind his back. Olivia went up to Logan smiling. "That was amazing" she said "I guess bringing you along for the ride wasn't such a bad idea after all Commander." Then they walked back to their car. They saw Drake waiting.

"Good Commander" said Drake. As he said it, Logan noticed he looked constipated.

"Is being nice to me really that hard" asked Logan.

"You have no idea," said Drake.

* * *

The ride back to Andrews Air Force base was a quick one. When the team arrived, they took Conrad to one the base's interrogation rooms and cuffed him to the chair. Olivia and Logan were going to be conducting the interrogation this time.

Both Logan and Olivia knew that there was no such thing as a one size fits all interrogation. Different people responded to different techniques. For instance, Logan knew that LaRoshe was a coward and would spill at the first sign of physical violence.

However Conrad will be different. He had endured unimaginable horrors. Corrosion or the threat there off would be ineffective. What would be needed for him to open up would be empathy and understanding.

"Conrad" said Logan softly "we need to ask you a few questions. Where were you trained."

"China" said Conrad "somewhere near the Yangzi River."

"Do you know how old you are?" asked Olivia.

"I think 16" said Conrad.

"How were you deployed?" asked Logan.

"I was given my orders by LaRoshe" said Conrad "he relied my missions for Azrael."

"Wait" asked Olivia "do you mean Mutura Azrael, the leader of Blue Cosmos?"

"Yes," asked Conrad.

"Conrad" said Logan "we need to knew where Azrael is hiding. That is the only way the Federation or the PLANTS will show mercy."

"Azrael is…" then Conrad let out a scream of agony. This was it, the pain. He felt like his inside was on fire. He started shaking like made. He started sweating and tears welled up in his eyes.

"Conrad" asked Logan concerned "what's going on."

"I need" Conrad whimpered, then he screamed again "I need the drugs."

"What drugs" asked Logan? But Conrad was still screaming. "Conrad" said Logan "you need to tell me what drugs are being used on you."

"Gamma" screamed Conrad "Gamma Glyflection."

"Alright" said Logan "Olivia and I can get it for you. In the mean time, I'll have someone come in with painkillers to stop the pain." Logan and Olivia walked out of the interrogation room.

"What's going to happen to him" asked Logan.

"Hopefully the PLANTS and the Federation realize that he was forced into being an assassin" said Olivia "but the Federation is on shaky ground with the PLANTS as it is. Turning over the terrorist that caused them so much trouble will go a long way in smoothing out relations."

"They can't do that" snapped Logan.

"My mom is the President" said Olivia "If she says Conrad is going the PLANTS, he's going to the PLANTS."

"Well then we'll make them a better offer" said Logan "once we get the location from Conrad, we arrest Azrael, extradite him to the PLANTS, and he can stand trial."

"Stand trial for what?" asked Olivia.

"The man tired to commit genocide" said Logan "they're smart people, the PLANTS will figure something out."

"How do you know?" asked Olivia.

"Because as you will soon learn Major Taylor" said Logan "I know everything."

Then the door opened and Drake and Miles Desmond entered the room. Miles was brought over from the Paris on the same plane that carried Logan and Olivia.

"We have a problem" said Desmond.

"What?" asked Olivia.

"Gamma Glyflection" said Drake "It's an illegal performance enhancing drug. We don't have any in site, and that kid needs it more than anything."

"What do you mean?" asked Logan.

"We mean" said Desmond "that once your addicted to Gamma Glyflection you need it for life. Without regular doses, the central nervous system will start to collapse."

"Son of bitch" Logan said aloud. Then he punched the one way glass.

"What now?" asked Olivia.

"That's how they do it" said Logan "they keep them on drugs so they can't run. That's kept turning Conrad into another me. They're doing it so they can keep better control of the Extendeds."

"Extendeds?" asked Olivia.

"That's what we were called" said Logan "we were trained from the time we could walk to kill, in anyway you could think of. They told us that we were the greatest naturals ever. We were conditioned so we could compete with coordinators. That we were humanities first line of defense against the coordinators."

"Not to interrupt this nice little trip down memory lane" said Desmond "But that kid needs Gamma Glyflection or he's going to die. Slowly and painfully."

"I'll call Fort Detrick," said Olivia "that's were the Army Chemical Research Center is. They will ether have it or know how to get it."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	15. Act of Treason

Mutura Azrael was not a patient man. He had monitored CNN for news of the operation. He knew things weren't going as planed when the news reported that the embassy was evacuated. Then he new the plan was completely shot to hell when they reported that the Anti-Terrorism Division had detained a suspect.

He was now waiting for a call from his contact within the Division to give him an update. But he didn't the phone wasn't ringing. He needed information and he need it now. Information was the only reason he had gotten this far. So far his plan was perfect. Coordinate assassinations, and high profile attacks on coordinators on the Earth, to inflame the coordinators and force President Taylor to go to war with them.

Azrael knew it would work. The coordinators expected everything to be handed to them. They had jumped around and screamed that the Earth nations do more to stop the attacks. But in the mean time, their own military and intelligence services were doing surprisingly little to stop the attacks. This whole air of superiority infuriated Azrael. They believed they were the superior beings but they were in fact monsters. God had never intended for people like him to exist. Men are not meant to fiddle around with genes like they were remodeling a car. God knew that humans were fine just as they were, it was not the place of man to improve on a creation that was not there's. It was up to him to see that nature's greatest mistake was corrected.

Azrael knew since he was a child that those coordinators were a monstrosity. When he was in school he had meet one. His whole smug attitude and the way he looked down on the other students pissed him off. When finally him and his friends confronted him, he had bet them all up. Why? Just because he could. Azrael ended up with two broken ribs and a fractured arm.

Growing up, he kept seeing it over and over again. Coordinators constantly found new ways to screw naturals. They demanded a sovereign nation, why so they could develop military technology to destroy naturals. Patrick Zala and his GENESIS cannon was proof of that. It came inches away from destroying the planet Earth. It was only by the grace of God that the coordinators were stopped, and it only by the grace of God that the he escaped the Dominion alive. That is why he was given a second chance. So he could finish God's work and destroy those space invaders once and for all. People like President Taylor where either too naïve or too stupid to see that the coordinators were planning to destroy them while the new Federation government was trying to placate them.

Lucky for him Taylor didn't throw out everyone with half a brain out of her government. Some people were still willing to support him. Some because they saw the threat coordinators posed, others like his long lost contact did it for money, but it was all the same to Azrael. As long as they helped him achieve his ultimate goal, he didn't care.

Then the phone rang. "Drake" shouted Azrael "what he hell is going on."

"Sorry" said Commander Derek Drake "something's came up."

"What is going on?" demanded Azrael again.

"Logan Mercer has caused some helpful developments," said Drake.

"Did you say Mercer?" asked Azrael "Is he helping them?"

"Yes," said to Drake "and to make matters worse he has Conrad."

"What do you mean he has Conrad?" asked Azrael.

"I mean," said Drake "he apprehended him and he is going to make a deal in exchange for his cooperation. Once gets some Gamma Glyflection he is going to spill."

"He knows where I am," shouted Azrael "why didn't you finish Mercer."

"Are you insane," shouted Drake "if I tried to take him out I would lose my cover, besides I never got a chance, Taylor has been watching him like a hawk."

"You need to kill Conrad," said Azrael "if he talks, we lose everything."

"I can't" snapped Drake.

"You can and you will" said Azrael "where are you know?"

"Andrews Air Force Base?"

"Okay" said Azrael "kill Conrad and get to Dulles Airport. Go to the first private terminal you see. You will be on a plan to Caracas and I'll double your pay for the trouble."

"Fine" said Drake "I'll call you when you're on the plan."

* * *

Drake hung up his untraceable cell phone and walked out of the men's room. He looked compeletly relaxed, considering what he had just been told to do. He walked to the interrogation room where Conrad was being held.

He walked into the waiting room and screwed a silencer onto his Berretta PX4 Storm. Then he opened the door and walked into the room. Conrad was painting, sweating like made.

"Do you have the drugs?" asked Conrad; his voice was still sore from all of the screaming.

Without a word Drake fired three times. One hit Conrad in the stomach. One hit him in the neck; the last struck him in the head. Then he walked out. Then he walked up the stairs and into the main computer floor of the base. He sat down on next to an empty terminal and logged onto the system. He clicked through a few commands and entered the archive for the security footage. Then he deleted all of the day's video from Conrad's interrogation room.

* * *

Logan waited for Olivia outside her office. She exited her office and approached Logan. "I just got off the phone with Colonel Art Harris" said Olivia "he will have some Gama Glyflection in our hands within the hour."

"Thank god" said Logan "I tell Conrad the good news." Him and Olivia walked down to the interrogation room. They're mouths dropped when they saw Conrad's dead body.

"What hell" said Logan. He walked over to the body. A quick examination revealed that there was nothing that could be done, Conrad was dead.

"Miles" Olivia shouted over her radio "someone just shot the detainee."

"What" exclaimed Miles.

"I need you to send me the security footage to my PDA" said Olivia "it supports video."

"Shit" said Miles "some hacked into the system and deleted it."

"Use the backups" said Olivia.

"They're aren't any backups," said Miles.

"Yes there are" said Olivia "you need to use the fallowing password. mmd12778l."

"Alright" said Miles, then the two listened to the sound of Desmond type on his keyboard. "I have the tapes," said Desmond then there was a pause. "Holy shit. Guys you need to see this."

Logan, who was significantly taller than Olivia, walked over and looked over her shoulder as her phone switched to video mode. Then the screen showed Conrad wreathing in pain sitting in a chair.

Then they saw Drake walk in, then to they're shock and utter horror, they saw him pulled out a silenced pistol and shoot Conrad shot in the head. Olivia's face went pale. Drake, her second in command and closed friend, was a traitor. He was the reason why her investigation went nowhere for so long. Her body went numb, for the first time in her life; she didn't know what to do.

Logan sprung into action and grabbed Olivia's radio, "Miles" he said "call base security tell them to grab Drake." He ran out of the interrogation room and pulled out his Sig Sauer.

* * *

Drake walked down the hallway to the exit, his plan was simple, walk a few more steppes, take on of the SUV's, go to Dulles, then he was a free man. Then a solder walked up behind him.

"Commander Drake" he said "I have orders take you with me." Without a word he shot the solder twice in the head. Then he walked out of the door and into the parking lot. The walked ten steps to the nearest car, then he herd a voice cry out. "DRAKE." Drake turned around and saw Logan with his weapon drawn. Logan fired twice. Quickly Drake ducked behind a car and fired his own weapon twice. Logan quickly sidestepped, dodging the bullets. Logan kept firing on the traitor.

Drake knew he was at a disadvantage. He opened the door of the SUV. His only option was to use the car to run Mercer down. He climbed over passengers seat and into the drivers seat. He started the car and put it in drive.

Logan fired twice the bullets smashed through the glass; one flew past Drake and smashed the black window. The second blew into Drake's shoulder. The pain was show sharp pain caused Drake to lose concentration on the car. But when driving, a second was all it took for something catastrophic to happen. He spun out of control and smashed into a wall. The airbag deployed and crashed into his face. The pain from his wounded shoulder and smashed head made Drake delirious. He struggled out of the car. He saw Logan advancing towards him. He raised his Berretta, but before Drake could fie, Logan shot him in the knee, sending him to the ground.

"Why did you do it?" screamed Mercer "why did you kill Conrad."

"Nothing personal" winced Drake "just part of my job."

"How many people are dead as part of your job?" asked Logan, every word trembling with anger.

"How many people are dead because of you Mercer?" asked Drake. With a roar Logan stomped down crushing Drake's hand.

"Logan" cried Olivia. She ran up to him accompanied by solders, she pushed Logan away from Drake as a medic examined the traitor.

"I need to find out where Azrael is," Logan pointed out.

"You don't have to break out the car battery and jumper cables just yet," said Olivia, her voice was devoid of emotion. She reached into Drakes paints and pulled out a cell phone "we have this."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	16. Human Nature

Olivia sat in the window seat of the Gulfstream jet. The plan was flying over the Pacific Ocean; it was a beautiful sight wasn't her mind on that. She still couldn't believe that Derek Drake, a man she fought with, and man she would have died for was a traitor. He feed the terrorists information and risked the lives of who knows how many people.

However it did kind of make sense, he was extremely confrontational on the subject of Logan, he didn't want him any near the case. She thought it was because they just didn't like each other, but know she knew it was so he could try to save his own ass.

"Don't blame yourself" said Logan "if any consolation I didn't think he was a traitor either."

"Great" said Olivia. Then she couldn't hold in it any more. She felt the tears well up in her blue eyes. Then she finally broke down. For the first time she really started crying. She buried her face in Logan's chest started baling.

Logan put her arms around her whispered "it's going to be okay." Now that he really thought about it, Logan realized that she was a very attractive woman. But he was married, and that was never going to change. Olivia continued crying to for about five minutes.

"Sorry" she sniffled "I never should have put you in that position."

"Sometimes" said Logan "it's best for you to let the emotions out than for you to keep it in the inside."

"Sounds like your speaking for experience" said Olivia.

"A kind person was there to comfort me at my lowest" said Logan "I guess that it's only fair that I'm her for you at your lowest."

"This isn't my lowest," said Olivia sadly "actually, it's also the reason I joined the military."

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Logan.

"You see," said Olivia "since my mom was this huge senator she wasn't as home as much. But I never resented her for it, and my dad was around a lot. It was like a normal family except it was with a stay at home dad, and the mom went to work."

"What ever happened to your father? I saw your mother's inauguration speech and the man with her was her Chief of Staff."

"When I was about 12, my class went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art" said Olivia sadly "my class was about to get back on the buses to go back to the school. But my dad left his coat in the coat check desk. He told the teacher in charge to wait for him. I saw him run into the museum, a second latter the entrance blew up."

"Oh my god" said Logan.

"The FBI said a terrorist from the Arm of God," said Olivia "they were a radical group from the PLANTS. He strapped a suicide vest to his chest and blew himself up. I never went back to the Met again."

"My god" said Logan "Olivia I am so sorry."

"That's why I enlisted," said Olivia "When I saw the bomb go off, I felt so useless. Then for a while I felt mad. I wanted to do what ever I could to make sure that people like that suicide bomber couldn't hurt another man like my father again."

"I wish you luck," said Logan. He did wish he could join Olivia in her hunt for the terrorists that plagued the world but he had a wife to go home to, and he wouldn't trade that for anything, no matter how appealing the idea might have sounded.

"You know something" said Olivia turning to Logan "right now, you're the only person I know I can absolutely trust."

* * *

In his office Azrael was on the phone with a man who he didn't all together like. His name was Lord Gibrill. If Azrael had his way, than he wouldn't be speaking with the man. But his organization was the people funding his operation. "This is quite disappointing Mr. Azrael" said Gibrill in a patronizing tone.

"None of what happened today is my fault," insisted Azrael.

"It's not," commented Gibrill "because from where I'm sitting this whole situation could have been prevented years ago."

"What the hell are you talking about," demanded Azrael.

"We told you that you should have used Gamma Glyflection on Mercer in the beginning" said Gibrill "but you insisted that you had everything under control."

"Had I used Gamma Glyflection it reduced his effectiveness," shouted Azrael. The situation was now one of two ragging narcissists locked in battle, neither one willing to yield.

"The people in my organization are getting tired of your constant shifting of blame," said Gibrill.

"You don't understand," said Azrael "We trained Mercer to make him unstoppable. He was good, no, he was fantastic. We couldn't have asked for a better operative. Once we started using Gamma Glyflection on the others, they needed to be constantly monitored, constantly maintained. Mercer was independent and efficient. The others we very good at killing people, but they needed an entire support staff! That wasted recourses."

"But your failure to control caused the disaster in the Bloody Valentine War" pointed out Gibrill "you promised us a war, and we promised you funding. But now you've lost your power base in the Atlantic Federation and you now have this Mercer sideshow derailing your plans."

"Things aren't as hopeless as they seem" said Azrael "we still have people in Eurasia. And the final phase of the plan is still on. As for the issue with the Federation, that's just a risk you have from operating in a democratic society."

"Be that as it may" said Gibrill "but this hindrance wouldn't have happened after you carelessly sent that assassin to kill Mercer. Your desire for vengeance caused a very costly mistake."

"That doesn't matter" shouted Azrael "the plan is still in place. Once I get to Boston we will succeed and you can have your war."

"I hope for your sake that your plan still works" commented Gibrill.

"What is that supposed to mean" cried Azrael.

"You created a monster with Mercer" said Gibrill "now the monster seems to have turned on his creators. He's gone rouge and he won't stop until he hunts you down and finishes you."

"What you want from me?" demanded Azrael

"I want you to do what you were either to lazy and inept to do the last time" said Gibrill "as long as he is alive, our organization is open for attack. If you can't fallow those simple instructions, then I will replace you with someone who can." Then the line went dead.

Azrael slammed the phone back in its cradle. He hated Gibrill; he didn't even pretend to see the importance of what he was doing. All he carried about was his bottom line. He walked to his desk and looked down at the airport surveillance photo of Logan Mercer, the bane of his existence. He had a tendency of popping up right at the worst possible moment and running any well-conceived plan he may have had.

But then something caught his eye. He looked at the picture of the girl Logan was traveling with. He knew that Mercer wasn't into hookers, and the flavor of the week weren't Logan's thing, so who was she? The more he looked at the woman the more he thought she recognized her. Then she noticed the ring on her finger. Then he noticed Logan had a ring on his finger.

Azrael couldn't believe it. He did a quick Google search on his office computer and found it. The two pictures he found were an exact match. The woman with Mercer was indeed Lacus Clyne. And the rings? The two were married. Mercer grew more unpredictable with each passing minute.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	17. And the Name that Sat on Him was Death

Logan and Olivia sat in an SUV outside the Jade Rabbit. They had landed in Shanghai three hours ago in the city where Miles had traced Drake's last call. The club was one of the most popular hangouts in all of Shanghai. The line in was very long. In fact it went down the corner and on the other end of the street. Logan had never taken to nightclubs. All they ever were to him were large rooms with loud music and being surrounded by a bunch of drunken people.

"Two bouncers outside" said Olivia "I think they have guns."

"Security cameras?" asked Logan.

"Two outside" said Olivia "probably more."

"Miles" Logan said. He was talking into the wrist. There was a microphone that was wireless mike in the wrist. It was connected to a radio clipped to his belt.

"What is it Logan?" asked Desmond through his wireless earpiece.

"I need you hack into the club's security network and crash their cameras, radios and cell phones."

"Sure" then he herd some typing on Desmond's keyboard and then he said, "it's done."

"Let's go," said Logan. Then the two walked out of the SUV and towards the entrance of the club.

"Are you sure we should do this without backup?" asked Olivia.

"No" said Logan "a strike team would only call unnecessary attention, I'm not letting him get away." Then he walked straight for the entrance ignoring the line. When he tried to get in the large bouncer blocked him.

"I need to see ," said Logan.

"You wait in line," said the bouncer. The other bouncer waked behind his partner and Olivia walked next to Logan to back him up.

"Get out of my way" said Logan "or I'll kick you ass from here to Hong Kong."

"Leave" said the guard "or I'll call the police." Logan then grabbed the man, picked him up, spun around and threw him on the concrete sidewalk. Then Logan slammed down on his chest with his foot.

The other guard was about to go for his weapon but Olivia delivered a roundhouse kick to his chest. And the preformed spin kick that shattered the man's jaw. Then Logan put his arms over his head and waved towards the club.

"Everybody in" he shouted. Then the entire line rushed into the club. Logan and Olivia joined the crowd and easily blended in. When they reached the main part of the club, they saw all the typical club amenities. It had multi colored strobe lights, loud techno music, people dancing on the floor, and people doing things in the dark corners that would land them in prison.

"Why do you hate him so much?" asked Olivia.

"Hate who?" asked Logan.

"Azrael" said Olivia. Then a bouncer with a Jericho 941 9mm spotted them. Olivia saw him, before the bouncer could ready his gun, but Olivia kicked him in the stomach breaking two ribs. Logan stepped behind the guard and delivered a palm strike to the back of the shoulder, breaking it. The pain from the shoulder and ribs sent the guard to the ground. Olivia then kicked him in the neck knocking him out. The noise from the music was too loud for anyone to hear, and the patrons were too drunk to care.

"Azrael is a sociopath," said Logan "he doesn't care about anyone, except himself."

"That sounds like half the people I know," said Olivia.

"That's not it," said Logan angrily "he sees coordinators as this symbol of evil or something. He made what I am. He was the one who decided that the people I killed deserved to die. He ruined my life. He made me suffer through 17 years of hell. He made me something no child should become. And he sent those two kids to their deaths. He tired to have over a million men women and children killed. All because he didn't like their genes."

"You really hate this guy," said Olivia.

"I'm sure that he has plenty of nice things to say about me," said Logan "I what's worse is that he sees himself as some kind of savior. He honestly believes he's the good guy in all this. The Great Satan if they're ever was one." Then the pair walked past a bar and into another area of the club. They saw a metal staircase that lead to a platform above the floor of the club that lead to a door in the top of the wall.

"That must be the office," said Olivia. The two made their way to the stairs and climbed them. They saw two men walk out of the office and walk towards Logan and Olivia. Logan punched one guard in the face and forced his head onto the railing knocking him out cold.

The other guard tried to grab at Olivia, but she responded with an elbow strike to the Adams apple, sending him to the ground. Then Logan drew his Sig Sauer P226 and Olivia took out her Kimber 1911.

"Ready?" asked Logan.

"Ready" said Olivia "move in."

Then the opened the door and walked in. They saw Azrael sitting at his desk talking on the phone. "LOGOS has set everything in motion. The package will be in Boston." Then Logan walked over and turned the desk over.

"You" shouted the Great Satan. Then Logan grabbed him and punched him in the face.

"You son of a bitch" he screamed. Then he let go of him and Azrael fell to the ground.

"You ruined my life," shouted Logan as he kicked Azrael in the stomach. "And you ruined Conrad's life" another kick "and when he finally had enough you had your whore Drake kill him" another kick. "And there was that other guy Dyson" he said "tell me what did you think would happen once you sent him after me?"

"You know Logan I'll never understand you," said Azrael clutching his side "you were the best we ever had. You could have been someone. Once the coordinators were gone your sacrifices would have been honored. But you chose to wallow in your own self-pity. You could have saved the world, but you chose to ruin it for all of us and for the sake of those space invaders."

"Shut up" said Logan as he kicked him. He had never been so angry in his entire life. "Why did you try to kill me?"

"Are you kidding me?" asked Azrael "first you desert us. Then you betray us. You save those fifthly coordinators. And the next thing I know you wind up in Paris married to some coordinator who…" Before Azrael could finish his sentence Logan shoved the barrel of his Sig Sauer into his mouth.

"One more word about my wife and I'll blow your fucking head off and dump your worthless ass in the bay," hissed Logan. Then he slowly moved the gun out of his mouth. "How do you know about my wife?"

"It wasn't to hard to figure out," said Azrael "I looked a few times, then I realized it was Lacus Clyne. You know, if your parents knew that you married some space invader they would be very disappointed in you."

"How the hell would you know," shouted Logan.

"Are you kidding?" laughed Azrael "When we told them what we had in store for you, you should have seen their faces. They were so proud to know that their son would be fighting for the naturals."

"Screw you," shouted Logan. Then he leveled his Sig at Azrael's head. Logan had never wanted to kill someone more in his entire life. He pulled back the hammer of the P226, and smiled.

"Logan" said Olivia. She moved in closer. "Don't kill him."

"Do you honestly think this sack of shit should live?" asked Logan.

"No" said Olivia "but we need him to tell us what he was talking about on the phone."

"And what are you going to do about it?" asked Azrael.

"How far do you want me to go?" asked Logan.

"As far as you need to" said Olivia "torture him if you have to."

"What" said Azrael who had a look of horror on his face. Then Logan dragged him over to a couch on the other side of the office. Then he shoved Azrael on it.

"I'm going to enjoy this," said Logan.

"You can't do this," said Azrael.

"I don't see anyone here who is going to stop him," said Olivia.

Azrael looked into Logan's eyes. All he saw was a look of joy. "You shouldn't have trained me so well," said Logan "we reap what we sow." Then Logan took out a knife. "What is LOGOS," he demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know" said Azrael.

"Yeah I would," said Logan as he gave nemesis an evil grin. Then he dug his knife into the man's thy. Then he slowly cut the skin making a long gash.

"LOGOS is organization of international businessmen," screamed Azrael.

"What kind if business?" asked Logan. He knew that once things got physical Azrael he would start talking. He was too self absorbed to put himself in any real danger.

"The military industrial complex" said Azrael.

"How are you connected to it?" asked Logan.

"Fuck you" spat Azrael.

"Fuck me" snapped Logan "fuck this" then he derived his knife into Azrael's shoulder. He screamed as Logan began to twist it. The office was soundproof so no one could hear the screams. Olivia watched as Logan continued to torture the terrorist. She felt not one ounce of sympathy for the man. Her had tried to have her mother killed and ruined the lives of countless people. He had made Logan into a monster. In a way the creation destroying his creator was poetic justice. Then she felt someone rap an arm around her chest and a pistol was shoved into her back.

"Drop the knife," said the voice behind her. Logan snapped the knife out of Azrael's solder. He looked as two of the guards know held Olivia at gunpoint.

"It took you long enough" shouted Azrael "what the hell do I pay you people for." Then he got up from the couch and exited his office using another door. But before he left he said, "kill them both."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	18. And Hell Soon Fallowed

Logan held his hands in the air still holding his Recon knife. "Hey" said the guard "I said drop the knife." Logan noticed that there was what looked like a dragon tattoo on his neck. Logan knew that the Great Satan probably hired some low life Chinese gangsters for protection.

Now Logan was analyzing what tactical solutions he had. The two guards were using 9mm handguns and both Logan and Olivia were wearing bulletproof vests. However the vests would be useless because the gangsters were too close. Logan's mind raced to find a solution.

He thought about cooperating but then Olivia provided a solution. Olivia leaned down causing the guard holding her to flip over her back and onto the ground. Then she killed him then and there with a well-placed throat strike to the neck. The other guard turned his gun on Olivia. Before he could fire, Logan threw the knife at the men's neck. The serrated blade cut through corroded artery. Logan walked up and pulled the knife from the man's neck and walked over Olivia.

Logan ran over to the to the door and tired to use the knob but it wouldn't budge. He tried to break the door down with his shoulder but that wouldn't work. "Damn it" he screamed.

"I'm fine, thank you very much," said Olivia.

"Come on," said Logan "we can head him off from the outside." They ran out of the office and towards the stairs. They saw that two other guards ran up the stairs. But before they could reach the landing Logan kicked the man in front with such force that he fell down the stairs, slammed into the man behind, causing them to crash onto the club floor. Logan latter took out his P226 and shot the men twice in the head.

Another guard on the floor raised his submachine gun and fired. Logan and Olivia jumped back on the platform to avoid getting hit. Then Olivia popped out and shot the gunner with a jacketed .45 caliber round. They both ran down the stairway onto the ground floor.

The sound of gunfire caused all the club gores to start running towards the exits. "Shit" said Olivia "my guess we've got about seven minutes before the police arrive."

Then more gunfire rang out. Logan and Olivia ducked behind to columns that were supporting the roof of the club. Olivia and Logan knew that the shots came from the retreating crowd. Neither of them wanted to fire blind and kill one of the innocent patrons.

Logan looked out from behind the pillar. He saw the black blob of people running away, but he also saw multiple light sources. "Aim for the lights" said Logan. He raised his weapon and fired three times. Then three of the lights dropped to the floor.

Olivia and Logan broke off into opposite directions. Logan broke left and Olivia right. Logan. Logan fired once and struck a man in the head with a bullet. Then he spotted a Heckler and Koch USP Pistol. He picked it up, and fired it along with his Sig Sauer. The double duty 9mm hail of death brought down two more men.

Olivia ducked behind a column and shot down two more men with her M1911. Then she suddenly spotted one of the men. She ducked out of the way as he tried to club her with the but of a shotgun. Then Olivia grabbed the barrel and shoved it away from him. Then Olivia forced the back of the gun into the man's head.

She spun the shotgun around and fired. One of the gangsters' chests blew open. "Nice moves" commented Logan.

"I've got a lot where that came from" Then suddenly more gunfire rang out. One of the guards fired his AK-74 at Olivia. But she was able to duck in time and hide behind the pillar. The man just kept firing. But he had made the critical mistake of forgetting the second hostile.

Logan fired his two pistols, four shots hitting the man in the back. Then Logan dropped the USP and reloaded his Sig Sauer. "You ready?" asked Logan.

"Let's go," said Olivia. She popped out of the hiding space and advanced into the front part of the club. More gangsters were waiting for them. Logan took three out with his Sig Sauer. Olivia blew another one away with her shotgun.

Logan took a few more steps, and then someone popped out of the bar, and shot Logan with a Skorpion submachine gun. Then Olivia spotted him and practically blew his head of with a shotgun blast.

She turned her head and saw Logan on the floor. She ran over to him and knelt down. "Did you get hit?" she asked. Logan was surprised to hear genuine concern in her voice.

"Nah" he said "I caught it in the vest." The Skorpian fired .32-caliber ammunition, the vest he was wearing could handle it no problem. However, it didn't stop the massive bruising that would result. "Worried?"

"Don't flatter yourself" said Olivia. She pulled him up, but the thing was she didn't let go of his hand when he got up.

"I need that back," said Logan.

"Oh" said Olivia embarrassed. They tried to walk, but then Logan let out a cry as he tried to walk.

"Okay" said Olivia "come on." She put his arm on her shoulder and led him out. "What he said really got to you."

"What who said?" asked Logan.

"Azrael" said Olivia "what he said about your parents."

"I never knew my parents," said Logan "I didn't know maybe he was telling the truth maybe he wasn't." The identity of his parents wasn't something that he often thought of. But it was a source of uneasiness. It was hard to imagine what kind of monsters that would willingly allow their child to be used as a murderer.

* * *

In his car Azrael, was fuming, "I need some pain killers" he shouted. Then he made for his laptop computer he had in the car. He turned it on and activated the main program. The screen switched to an aerial videotape of a predator drone over the sky of Shanghai. He saw that there were two figures walking away from the club. He zoomed in and saw that one of them was looking to the sky, it was Mercer.

"Time to die" said Azrael. He switched back to another screen and typed in a few commands.

* * *

On the ground Logan could hear the loud whine the air. "What is that?" asked Olivia.

Then they heard the loud noise in the air, growing closer. "Predator" shouted Logan. He broke away from Olivia and the two of them ran to the car. Then the Predator's air to surface missal crashed into the Jade Rabbit causing it to explode.

The shockwave from the blast forced both Olivia and Logan to the ground. They both got up. Logan clutched his chest, still in pain from the bullets. "Well you've got to hand it to him" said Olivia "he's still persistent."

"Predator drone" said Logan "of the things in his bag of tricks, I never thought he would have a predator drone."

Then they herd the sound of police sirens. Olivia and Logan ran to the car, and Olivia started the ignition. "Shit" said Logan as he saw police cars try and block the ends of the street.

"Buckle up" said Olivia. Then she threw the gear into reverse and tore ass down the street. She slammed on the gas and the car backed up, it crashed into the front end of two police cars. Then she spun the car around and put in drive. She accelerated down the road. The police gave chase. Olivia turned down and ally way and onto another street. A Honda swerved out of her way, then it crashed into another police curser.

Another police car came up next to Olivia. She rolled down the and shot out the front left tire. Logan was impressed, this girl was as good as he was. The move was tactful, the car crashed blocking the other pressures.

Olivia turned down another road and pulled into the Federation Consulate in Shanghai. "What now" asked Olivia as the two of them got out of the car.

"We find Azrael" said Logan.

"And how do you propose we do that?" asked Olivia.

"We know where he is going" said Logan "Boston."

"Boston is one of the largest cities in the Federation" said Olivia "so unless you have some psychic abilities I don't know about, we're screwed."

"I don't know where he is" admitted Logan "but I know someone who does."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	19. Executive Order

Derek Drake looked aimlessly at the ceiling of his new hospital room. In all his experience in military service he never had such a bizarre treatment. First he was taken to the hospital wing of Andrews Air Force base to be treated for the gunshot wounds and broken ribs he received, curtsy of Commander Mercer.

But then out of the blue, his guards sedated him then the next thing he knew he was in a Boston hospital. It was really strange. If he was going to be moved, he assumed that it would be to one of those black sites that the CIA ran. The ones when the less than legal interrogations took place. But lucky for him, he wasn't some terrorist. He was a solder and a citizen, he had the full protection of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Even if Olivia tired to send him off to the CIA, which wasn't something she shied away from, she'd have no luck.

Drake pressed down on the button that was supposed to call the nurse. His gunshot wounds still killed, and it had been hours since is last morphine treatment. He needed more or he would start screaming.

Then the door opened, and Drake gasped at the appearance of Logan Mercer. "How have you been."

"I'm not talking to you without my JAG rep" said Drake defiantly. JAG stood for Judge Advocate General. It was the division of the military that provided legal services for solders accused of a crime.

"Yes you will" said Logan "or you will be in a world of pain."

"What makes say that?" asked Drake.

"Because, asshole, President Taylor just signed an executive order that allows me to do what ever I need to do to you to get information" shouted Logan "and these acts will also be part of the pardon I was promised."

Drake was shocked, executive orders were edicts given by the President that dictated how the federal government was to run. They also carried the full force of law. Violation of these orders were treated no differently then violation of a federal statute. Congress or the courts did have the power to overturn the order, but the pardon meant that Logan couldn't be punished for anything to Drake. But then Drake thought of something.

"Nice try Mercer" said Drake "Do you really think that Taylor would put her chances of reelection at risk by ordering you to physically abuse prisoners."

"You might be right," said Logan "but that theory would only work if would got out to the public about what happened here."

"My JAG lawyer will make sure of that" spat Drake smugly.

"And what makes you think that you are even going to see anyone from JAG?" asked Logan "is it because your in a public hospital? We'll I've got news for you, you son of a bitch. You aren't."

"You're bluffing," said Drake.

"Am I?" asked Logan. Then he depressed the release on his holster and took out is Sig Sauer. "We are going to play a little game" Logan said, "I'm going to ask you a question. If you refuse to answer or I think you're lying to me, I'll shoot you in the knee. If you continue to lie or be non-responsive, I'll shoot you in the other knee. Then I'll shoot you again and again until you give me what I want."

"You're bluffing," said Drake again "even if you are authorized to torture me, which you aren't by the way, you still need me alive."

"Wrong" said Logan "If I have to kill you I have LaRoshe, all he needs is the rumor that I am coming, and he will start singing. Now, I know LOGOS is a consortium of people in the military industrial complex" said Logan "how is it connected to Blue Cosmos."

"This is nonsense," said Drake. Then Logan aimed his weapon and shot Drake in the knee. Drake started screaming.

"Still think it's nonsense?" asked Logan.

"No" whimpered Drake.

"Now that we have that out of the way, how is LOGOS connected to Blue Cosmos?"

"Do you think some fairy godmother gave Azrael his power over night?" asked Drake "LOGOS gave them the power base to take control of the Federation's government. And they gave Blue Cosmos funding to create... things like you."

"How did they manage to do that?"

"How much do you think the Federation pays Sig Arms for that gun of yours?" asked Drake "how much do you think the Federation pays the manufactures for the mobile suits they use? I'll tell you, millions?"

"Get to the point" said Logan "or I'll move on to the other knee."

"It was an arraignment," said Drake "If there was a war, LOGOS could make millions, they used Blue Cosmos to start the war with ZAFT. They used Blue Cosmos, it was full of fanatics ready to start a war. LOGOS would give all the money it needed to do that, and funded the campaigns of candidate's that hate coordinators. Then they could force people like that idiot Daniels to fire a nuclear missal at Junious Seven. LOGOS would then profit off of the money they made making weapons for the Earth Alliance. They would make 100 times the money the invested.

"So are you saying that the Bloody Valentine War was just one big arms deal" snapped Logan.

"Not entirely" said Drake "in the beginning it was about money. LOGOS thought it would capitalize off of the anti-coordinator sentiment. But then as the war progressed things got out of control. No one predicted Patrick Zala and the GENESIS cannon. And Azrael, there is nothing fake about his hatred for coordinators. Nor for that many was the hate that many people in the government had about coordinators. Like I said before, LOGOS just tried to capitalize on sentiment that already existed. He thought he was using LOGOS as much as LOGOS thought they were using him?"

"And these attacks" said Logan "Blue Cosmos and LOGOS know they President Taylor won't play ball with them, so they are going to force a war with ZAFT."

"Bingo" said Drake.

"Where is Azrael" said Logan "I need to find him."

"I have no idea" said Drake.

"I already shot you in your left knee when you were arrested" said Logan "do you want me to shoot it again."

"Azrael told me that he was going to have the final phase of the plan delivered to the PLANTS personally" said Drake.

"The only way he could do that is travel though space" said Logan "but Olivia and I put a wire on his passport, there is no way he is getting threw the airport."

"You don't need an airport to get to space" said Drake.

"The mass driver" said Logan. The mass driver in Boston was completed a few months ago, and was to be used for purely commercial purposes. Logan had no doubt that one of the cooperation's involved in LOGOS would give Azrael a ship.

"What ship" asked Logan.

"The Precision" said Drake.

Then Olivia walked in. "Hey Drake" she said with mock sweetness.

"Live" said Drake.

"Don't call me Live you son of a bitch" snapped Olivia.

"Look" said Drake "I know I burned you, I burned you bad. But it was nothing personal. It was just a job."

"So at the end of the day you like me, but you hate coordinators more?" asked Olivia.

"I don't work for Blue Cosmos," said Drake "I work directly for LOGOS."

"Well as you say" said Olivia, as she raised her M1911 "nothing personal" then she pulled the trigger, and the heavy .45 caliber round blew his head off.

Logan was shocked. He had never seen anything like he had just witnessed. Not that he pitted Drake by any means.

"Don't give me that look," said Olivia "you were itching to do the same thing."

Then the two walked out of the makeshift hospital room, and into a large open area. They were in a warehouse on the outskirts of Boston. The late Derek Drake was correct when he assumed that the President did not sign an executive order condoning the use corrosive techniques on him. In fact Olivia went to great lengths to insure that her mother didn't know this place even existed. Olivia tried very hard to insulate the President from the dark side of her world.

"Miles" she said. Desmond was sitting by a large bank of computers in the center of the large room. "We need you to do a search on a ship called the Precision."

"Right" said Desmond. He typed for a few seconds and then smiled. "The Precision is owned by the Diamond Group, it is a subsidiary of McLain and Forester." McLain and Forester was a defense contractor that sold to both the Principality of Eurasia and the Atlantic Federation. However, Olivia knew that there was a real possibility that the Senate would not renew their contract.

"When is it going to leave?" asked Logan.

"In about 4 hours" said Desmond.

"I'll put a team together" said Olivia.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	20. Sum of All Fears

Logan and Olivia were in a van on their way to the Boston mass driver. Logan was dressed as a cargo ship crewman. With a blue jumpsuit, and a fanypack. Inside was a .45 caliber compact Glock 30 pistol. "Alright" said Olivia "here's the plan. You get onboard the ship and try to find out what Azrael is planning."

"And if I try to find Azrael?" asked Logan.

"Don't," said Olivia "you'll be outnumbered and outgunned." She looked at Logan admirably. She was sad that after this she was going to lose Logan. He was a skilled fighter, a born leader, and his instincts were uncanny. He would have made a great addition to her squad. But a deal was a deal, but deep down she knew it wouldn't take long for him to join the fight again.

Logan on the other hand, was mentally working out a plan to kill Azrael on the ship. He thought of the old saying "it is better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission." Logan knew that Olivia might be displeased but she wasn't going to penalize him for putting the Great Satan out of their misery. Matura Azrael was a terrorist, mass murderer, and a sociopath. He had no respect for life, so Logan had no intention of affording him any in return. Despite how people like Cagalli, Kira, and Athrun thought, you did not deal with men like Azrael with diplomacy and compromises for peace that he would almost surly go back on.

Too many of his friends believed that the minds of these hatful, bigoted freaks could be changed, that if they showed them compassion and understanding, all of the problems would be solved. Logan knew better, he knew that the only way to stop men like the ones he was fighting was by shooting them. Patrick Zala was a firm example. Athrun still thought there was a chance that his father could have been saved, brought back from the dark path he was walking. But when Logan was strangling the life out of that animal, he could see how far the hatred went. He could see that the only way to stop Patrick Zala was to kill him. Azrael was no different, and it was time that he paid for all the lives then he either ended or ruined.

"Alright" said Desmond who was in the van with them "the Precision isn't scheduled to depart for another four hours."

"That should give you plenty of time to get in, observe then get out" said Olivia "a strike team will handle Azrael's takedown." The car finally stopped and Logan got out.

"Go get um Top Gun," said Olivia.

"Try not to miss me too much," said Logan, and then he closed the door. He was going to miss Olivia when this was all over. She was one of the only people who truly understood how Logan fought, and why his methods, no matter how seemingly cruel were necessary.

He walked to the main area of the dock, then he saw it the Precision, it was a large space cargo ship. He continued and went up the gangplank that would lead to the corridor, when he entered he took out his smart-phone and pulled up the plans the Desmond had downloaded onto it. He fallowed the instructions that were printed on the screen, walk down the hall to the left, then a right turn, then Logan found himself in a large cargo area.

Logan walked down the large area, having no idea what he should be looking for. He saw large containers off all shapes and sizes. But there was one on the end that caught his eye. It was bright yellow and it had a biohazard symbol on it. Logan knew that during the Great War, the Federation was developing a special strain of some autoimmune dieses such as Ebola to use against coordinators. Logan had no doubt that Azrael would release a virus inside one of the PLANTS colonies.

Then he spied a keypad. Logan then took out another handy dandy gadget that the Federation gave him. The device was a black box with buttons, numbered 0-9. He plugged it into the port on the box's keypad and he typed in a series of numbers. The computer in the box instantly commanded the computer in the keypad to unlock.

Then the broad side of the container opened then, Logan's breathing stopped. Inside was a large cone. On it was words written in Russian. Then Logan saw the symbol, the radioactive symbol. What Logan was looking at was a nuclear weapon from the old Soviet stockpile.

"I have to get out of here," said Logan, he pulled the phone and tried to dial Olivia's number. But then he felt two small sharp prods fly into his back, then thousands of volts of electricity coursed through his body. Logan collapsed, the sudden blow to the head and electricity knocked him out.

The guard holding the tazer pulled a radio out of his pocket. "Mr. Azrael" he said, "you were right. Mercer is right here."

"Like a moth to a flame" said Azrael on the bridge. He knew that once Logan found out where he was, he would through caution to the wind and come after him. Logan couldn't resist the chase.

Then Azrael turned to his laptop computer and took out a cell phone. "Time to make the change" he said.

* * *

"What the hell" said Desmond back in the van.

"What is it?" asked Olivia.

"The Precision" said Desmond "it just jumped from fourth on the list of departures to first. It's moving onto the mass driver right now."

"Oh my God" said Olivia "Logan." She ran out of the van and ran towards the harbormaster's office to try at stop the ship. Then she saw someone, he was about to reach for his pocket, and Olivia saw the hilt of a gun. Without hesitation she pulled out her M1911 and double tapped him in the chest. She continued into the two-story building and ran up the stairs into the main control room.

"I'm Major Olivia Taylor" she said "I order you to stop that ship right now."

"What's going on" asked the harbormaster.

"I am running an undercover operation vital to our national security" said Olivia "my operative has just been compromised and is in danger of being executed aboard the Precision."

"Are you serious?" asked the official "I can't just order a ship to stop."

Then Olivia pulled out her .45 and pointed it at the harbormaster's head. "Oh yes you can" she said.

"Alright" said the harbormaster. He went over to his desk and pressed down on his radio. "HQ to Precision" he said stand down. But it was too late. The Precision had made its way onto the mass driver. With a thunderous crash the ship was catapulted into space.

Olivia sprinted down the stairs and back to the van. "Take me to Logan International Airport" she ordered, "call Washington we need get the National Security Council talking about this, and ZAFT needs to know what is going on."

* * *

Azrael was walking down the hallway and walked into a large storage room. There he saw one of his men tazoring Logan, who was tied to a chair, in the stomach. "Can we have a moment alone please?" asked Azrael. The man handed Azrael a tazor and walked out.

"You bastard" said Azrael, and then he switched on the tazor and forced it into Logan's neck. "Thanks to you I can't move my shoulder with out it hurting like hell." When he heard Logan scream, Azrael never felt more happy.

"I know…" Logan struggled to say, "I know what you're planning. You're going to use a nuclear bomb to try and force the Atlantic Federation and PLANTS go to war again. But it won't work. Olivia Taylor knows what your doing. She will tell the PLANTS what you did, and they will hunt you down until they find you and they kill you."

"Well" said Azrael "I can have Major Taylor taken care of. And once the PLANTS find out this bit of information." Then Azrael showed him a picture of this PDA. In the photo was surveillance shot of Logan walking in the ship.

"Once the PLANTS learn that an Federation operative was involved," said Azrael "and the Eurasians provided the bomb that destroyed Aprilous One, war will be a sure thing. And the fool President Taylor will use the Federation's nuclear arsenal to bring the war to a swift and decisive end, because even she knows that the country can't survive a long protracted war with the PLANTS." Then he tazored Logan again.

"What shit bag did you pay off to get the warhead?" asked Logan.

"Yuri Suberov" said Azrael.

"Yuri Suberov" repeated Logan astonished "the Prime Minister of the Principality of Eurasia."

"The very same" said Azrael smugly "they used a diplomatic transport to avoid a search by the Federation authorities. Once ZAFT learns that the leader of a major Earth power was complicit in the greatest disaster in their history, they won't rest until they wipe out the Earth." Then he tazored Logan again.

"You know something," said Azrael "Ever since you showed up in Paris, I wondered why. Why were you so careless to show up out in the open? I mean you knew we were looking for you. And the one thing you aren't is stupid. But then I realized that you were married and then I saw the truth. You weren't stupid, you were selfish."

"Oh really" said Logan dismissively.

"Well think about it," said Azrael "think what you did to me back in China. Think about what you did to those men I sent after you. Do you really think those are the actions of the kind of person that would make a good husband."

"Screw you," snapped Logan.

"You know I'm right" said Azrael "the second you saw a chance you got back into the fight, you did. You can't stop fighting because it's in your blood. You can walk away from us, but you can't walk away from what you are. What were you dreaming when you got married? That you'd get some big house with a white picket fence with 2.5 kids, and what ever Norman Rockwell moment would cross your mind. Well I've got news for you. Even if you didn't get involved in my plan it would never happen. Because after a while Lacus would realize what you are."

Then Azrael leaned into and whispered in his ear. "A psychopath, she would see that you are a killer and a monster. No woman would ever want to live with a man like that. And once she saw what you are she would have left your sorry ass. She'd be tired off all of the people trying to kill her and worrying about when you were going to pop some sorry loser. She won't like people who torture men to get what they want? Its time that you faced the fact that you are a killer, nothing more nothing less. We made you that way. People like you don't get married. People like you don't get the girl. People like you fight and fight and fight, until you die."

Logan could just let his head sink. "What's the matter?" asked Azrael "no sarcastic remark, no threat. Well it's finally good to shut…" Without warning Logan threw his head back and brought it to bear on Azrael's forehead. The force of the blew knocked the Great Satan to the ground.

"I am going to kill you," shouted Logan "and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Guards" shouted Azrael, as blood started to flow from his nose. The two guards walked in. "Take him down the cargo area" screamed the Great Satan "I want him to be the first person that bomb kills."

The guards took Logan untied, and cuffed him. As they lead him out of the room, Logan shouted "Fuck you Azrael, say high to your pal Drake for me."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	21. Reckoning

The guards lead Logan down the hall and to an elevator. Logan needed an escape route, if he died Azrael would win. He was not going to stand by and let the Great Satan win. He may be right; all Logan was is a killer. But he was going to start by killing Azrael. As they walked into the elevator, Logan had a plan.

Their big mistake, cuffing his hands in front, and they were going to pay for that mistake dearly. Logan brought his hands together, and swung his elbow striking the guard to his left. Before the other guard had time to react Logan slammed his body into him.

Logan then crashed his fists into the guard's head. As the other guard tried to get up, Logan delivered a solid kick to the chest. With the two guards unconscious, Logan placed his cuffed wrists to the ground, then put his boot on the chain. Then he gave a sharp tug on his wrists. The metal started to dig into his skin, but he kept pulling. Then the chain finally snapped. He reached into one of his guards holster and pulled out a Browning Hi-Power.

Logan pressed the button that would send the elevator to the top floor of the ship. Then, the cart lurched upward. Then after a minute and a half the elevator doors opened and Logan aimed his gun forward and advanced down the hallway. He came upon a crewman armed with an MP5 submachine gun. Before the man had time to aim his weapon, Logan shot him once in the head and once in the chest.

* * *

Azreal sat on the bridge of the Precision and smiled. He was admiring the small detonator that would cause Aprilious to go bye bye. Then the satellite phone on his breast pocket rang. Azreal took it out and pressed the talk button.

"Hello" he said.

"Azrael" said Gibrill "I want a situation report."

"The ship is on time" said Azrael "and the Mercer situation is being dealt with."

"Dealt with how?" demanded Gibrill.

"Oh for Christ's sake" said Azreal "will you stop worrying."

"I'll stop worrying when you produce results," said Gibrill.

"Well I'll have you know," said Azreal, then shots rang out. One of the crewmen on the bridge was lying in a pool in his own blood. Logan was now standing with a Browning in hand.

"Everyone out" demanded Logan.

"What are you doing?" shouted the ship's captain.

"Be quiet," demanded Logan.

"What are you going to do?" asked Azrael as he started to move, but then Logan shoved the pistol into his face.

"You are staying here," said Logan.

"You are a traitor," said Azrael as he moved back into the corner.

"And you are going to hell" said Logan "move over to the controls. You are taking us back to the Federation."

Azrael put his hands on the helm and began to turn the ship around. Then Logan slammed down on the ship wide alarm button. Then Logan activated the intercom. "All hands" said Logan "we have a major…" but before Logan could continue. The door to the bridge opened.

A guard walked in with an Uzi trained on Logan. Fast as lightning, Logan spun around and fired twice into the man's chest. He advanced closer towards the door. He saw that two more guards with automatic weapons were coming towards him. Then he turned back into the bridge, but he herd an explosion and a hot pain shot into his lower chest. He instinctively put his hand to his chest and felt the solid flow of soft warm blood flow out of his chest.

He slumped down and saw Azrael holding his Sphinx AT380, then he collpased. "Asshole" said Azrael. Then another guard ran into the bridge.

"Are you okay sir?" asked the man.

"We are fine," said Azrael.

"We need to leave," said the crewman "the alarm…"

"The alarm is a fake," said Azrael. Then without warning two shots rang out and two 9mm rounds hit him in the chest. Before the other guard could react Logan shot him in the head.

Logan struggled to get up. It hurt like hell. It felt like someone had just punched a hole in the chest, and then he remembered that someone did punch a whole in his chest. As he walked over to Azrael. He saw that the Great Satan was spazing out in the legs and blood was flowing out of his chest. Blood was also flowing out of his noise and mouth.

"Logan" he struggled to say, "Listen, you need to let me detonate the bomb. It is you duty as a natural to…"

"Shut up" spat Logan. He pulled the trigger of the Browning and fired a 9mm round into the Great Satan's head. Logan's greatest enemy was now gone. He bent down, as he did so blood started to flow out of his chest. He let out a cry of pain. Then he started to search through Azrael's best pocket.

Then he found the detonator and picked it up. He walked out of the bridge. With every step he took he felt like his nerves were on fire with the pain. Every part of him ached. He started to sweet. He needed to get off the ship or he would die from blood loose or shock. He made his way to the elevator and pressed the down button.

When the doors finally opened Logan stumbled out, he was breathing heavily. His blood was pouring out of his chest, he stumbled his way to the escape pod, but he would need to muster all of his strength to get to the small craft. He dragged himself in and sat down in the lone seat.

He pressed the large red button on the control and the pod lifted into the air, and it was jettisoned into the vacuum of space. Then he pressed down on the emergency transmitter. He was sweating like a pig, and he could fell conscious slipping away from him. He was drifting away from the ship.

He didn't know how far away he was from the ship but he knew that he needed to detonate the bomb. After ten minutes pod was moving further and further away from the Precision. But he didn't know how far away from the ship he was. But he didn't have a choice. He pressed the button on the detonator. There was a flash and a loud bang, then the pod when flying and Logan's head slammed against the wall of the escape pod knocking him out.

* * *

Olivia was onboard the space carrier, the Alexander Hamilton, she was traveling the cosmos looking for the Precision. She was able to procure the ship on the newly constructed Lunar Base. The Alexander Hamilton had more than enough weapons to disable the Precision, and the battalion of SEALs could take out any hired guns that the Azrael had. Then she saw a flash a thousand miles away.

"What was that?" demanded Olivia.

"I just detected large surge of radiation," said one of the crewmen.

"Is it in L1?" asked Olivia. L1 was the Federation's area of space, the radiation surge was most likely the nuclear explosion, and if it took place in their space it would mean that they could manage it more easily.

The ship moved closer and all that was visible was some life pods and some debris. "Major," said the communication officers "I have an emergency transponder signal."

"Contact the occupant," said Olivia, she had a felling it would be Logan Mercer. Then the com-screen came to life. To her horror, Olivia saw Logan bleeding from the head and chest.

"Oh my god" said Olivia "get him back into the ship right now." Two Strike Daggers were deployed to carry the pod inside the ships hanger. Olivia rushed down and saw medics open the pod.

They pulled him out of the pod, unconscious, and bleeding profusely, and put him on a stretcher "He's lost a lot of blood," said a medic.

"I think he is going into shock," said another.

"What's going to happen to him?" asked Olivia.

"He needs to get to get to the Moon" said the chief medic "he can get to the surgery he needs there."

The medics rushed him to sickbay, and Olivia watched, her knees shaking, worrying for the fate of man she could now call her friend.

* * *

In a large office in Hamburg Germany, Lord Gibrill picked up his phone. "Sir" he said, "Azrael is dead."

"This is unfortunate," said the man on the other end. Apart from the phones they were using being untraceable, the man's voice was electronically scrambled so no one who might have managed to hear could tell who was talking.

"Yes most unfortunate" said Gibrill "Azrael's insipid narcissism and constant whining will be greatly missed."

"Not what I meant," said the disguised voice "now the plan will be delayed considerably."

"Prime Minister Suberov is ready," said Gibrill "the government of Eurasia is under our control."

"I am in position as well," said the voice "we must be patient, soon all will be corrected and peace will come."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	22. Hail to the Conquering Hero

Logan woke up from his groggy sleep. He saw what at first like a big brown blob. Then as his eyes focused he saw that it wasn't a blob it was Olivia. "Your alive" she said relieved.

"What happened," asked Logan. He looked around and saw he was in a hospital bed. The bed was in the back of a large private room with a TV in the corner, a phone and his uniform on a hanger.

"We picked up your life pod," said Olivia "we were able to get the bullet out of you."

"Where am I?" asked Logan.

"Copernicus City on the moon" said Olivia "you were out for two days."

"Oh" said Logan. He started to get out of his hospital bed and then Olivia stopped him. "What are you doing?" she demanded "you are recovering from a gunshot wound."

"I'm fine" insisted Logan.

"Just stay for another hour" said Olivia "then you can walk about as much as you want. We do have some things we need to discuss." Then she walked out of the room. Logan lay in the room for about an hour. He was board out of his mind. When the appointed moment arrived he got out of his bed. He grunted from the pain as he started to stand. He saw that his uniform was hanging by the window and then he put it on.

After he put on the uniform he examined himself in the mirror of his room. Then he realized something was seriously amiss. All officers' uniforms of the Atlantic Federation were white. But a commander's uniform one yellow rectangle with two blue squares on the collar. However this uniform had two yellow rectangles with blue squares inside located on the collar. And the shoulder pads were supposed to be black, his were red. He was wearing a Captain's uniform.

Logan walked out of his room and walked down a hall. He found Olivia waiting by a window that looked out to space. She saluted him smiling.

"Shouldn't I be saluting you?" said Logan.

"It is customary" said Olivia "for a solder to salute a Metal of Honor recipient regardless of rank. Captain."

"Captain" said Logan " Metal of Honor, Olivia what is going on."

"I have also been promoted," said Olivia "Due to your bravery and sacrifice, the decision has been made to reward you with the Congressional Metal of Honor. I'm a Colonel, I have been assigned to the Presidio base in San Francisco California."

"What does that have to do with me?" asked Logan.

"I'm the new head of the Special Projects Division," said Olivia "basically it is the same as special ops. I want you to join me there. You will be ether in a mobile suit or on the ground conducting an operation. You won't be deployed for more than three weeks, when your not on assignment you can stay in San Francisco, it is a beautiful city."

"Olivia" said Logan angrily "this was a one time deal. You said I after I helped you, I could go."

"Logan" said Olivia "on the plane you told me that you wanted to help people. That it was the only thing that made you feel whole. I'm offering a chance to help people. This LOGOS, there still out there, I can't beat them with out your help. You're the best there is. You have a responsibility to everyone to use the abilities that were given to you."

"I never wanted this" said Logan.

"I know" said Olivia "but think about it. You were created as an instrument of destruction. Now you can use these abilities to hunt down the people who did this to you and bring them to justice. I know that you have felt lost these past months. I know you don't think you are deserving of all of the good things that are happening. You still want to do more. I'm giving you a chance to do just that."

Logan just stared at the ground, this was all too much. Olivia was now offering him a job. He knew that he did want to help people. Repay for all of the evil he did. But he just didn't expect that things would go this fast. A few days ago he was getting married, now all of this.

"I have to talk to my wife about this" said Logan.

"Of course" said Olivia. Then a young officer walked up to them.

"Sir" he said addressing Logan "I have a call for you."

Logan took the phone and spoke into the receiver. "Hello."

"Captain Mercer" said the voice other line. The voice was female. It was older, wiser, and confident. Logan recognized the voice instantly.

"Madam President" said Logan. Indeed it was the voice of Allison Taylor. Then he could see that Olivia and the young solder had left them.

"Captain" said the President "I herd that you were injured during your mission. I'm relived to see that you are okay. I was worried." Logan could tell that the woman was serious and genuine.

"Thank you for your concern."

"I herd that you were married recently and that this incident interrupted your honeymoon" said the President "I'll make sure that you can get back to your wife as soon as possible."

"I would appreciate that" said Logan sheepishly.

"Captain" said the President "I want to thank you for all that you have done. You have saved the lives of millions of people. And I would also like to assure you that you are free to go. Your pardon has been signed an hour ago. The Federation is no longer interested in perusing a criminal case against you . I also know that my daughter has offered you a position in the Special Projects Division. I really hope that you take it and that you accept the Metal of Honor. We can use a man like you."

"I will give the matter serious thought Madam President" said Logan.

"That is not the only reason that I called" said Allison Taylor "I know nothing I say will change anything. But, I am truly sincerely sorry about the suffering you went through both physically and emotionally at the hands of Blue Cosmos. What was done to you by this nation was wrong. You can consider that our official apology."

"It's okay" said Logan "I don't hold any grudges against you or the Federation."

"That's not all" said President "we have been going through some of the old files and we found some interesting things. Most of it will help us pursue this LOGOS. But we have located your classified file."

"I thought you already had that" said Logan.

"Your military record yes," said the President "but that's not what I'm talking about. There is a file here detailing your training, acquisition, everything. You were born on March 8th CE 54 in Chicago. Your parents…"

"With all due respect" interrupted Logan "there is nothing in that file I want to know."

"But don't you want to know how became part of this?" asked the President.

"Madam President my life is finally coming together" said Logan "I'm married, I have a job offer which I'm considering. I don't want to know who my parents were or why they gave me to them."

"I see" said the President "would you like me to have this file sealed?"

"Actually" said Logan "I would prefer if it were destroyed."

"I understand" said the President "consider it done. I will not keep you waiting. The faster you get this next call the faster you get to see your new wife."

Then the line went dead and another voice came on. A male voice. Much colder and smoother. "Captain Mercer I presume."

"Speaking" said Logan "who is this."

"I am Gilbert Durandel, Chairman of the PLANTS Supreme Council."

"Mister Chairman" said Logan "how are you."

"Good" said Durandel "It's not everyday I get to meet the man who killed my predecessor."

"Good to know I could be of such help" said Logan.

"Ah" said Durandel "they warned me about your wit. Anyway I just want to thank you. On behalf of all of the PLANTS' citizens. You spared us the horror of another nuclear attack. You are a hero."

"Just doing my job" said Logan.

"I hope you realize what this means" said Durandel "everyone will know what happened, you are a natural, a Federation solder no less, and you stopped Blue Cosmos from destroying our capitol. You killed its leader and dismantled the organization. You do know what that means."

"You will get reelected" said Logan.

Durandel chucked "I imagine so" he said "but when I a President Taylor meet, we will be discussing ways our two nations can fight this LOGOS group together. I will have a better time persuading the Council that the Federation is trust worthy when they learn that a solder of their military stopped another war. Thanks to you, both our nations are aware of the threat that international terrorism poses to us. And the fact that elements of the Eurasian government assisted Blue Cosmos is also troubling. Both our nations will have to put aside our past differences and work together to fight this threat. This will bring about a lasting peace between the PLANTS and the Federation. You are an important part of securing peace, I hope you realize that."

"Glad I could help sir" said Logan.

"If there is anything I can do for you" said Durandel "anything at all, don't hesitate to ask."

"Of course" said Logan.

"I won't be keeping you any longer" said Durandel "I just want to say that I hope you do decide to stay in the Federation military. We will need someone like you in the future. Good day." And then the line went dead.

Logan stood in the wall way alone. Wondering just what the hell he was going to do next.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	23. For the Better

The space shuttle touched down in Limassol Cyprus. Logan got of off the craft and walked straight to the parking lot. He had called Lacus the day before. She said to meet him in Cyprus and that she would have a surprise waiting for him there. When he reached the parking lot he saw his wife on the hood of a red Mini-Cooper convertible.

"Hey" he said as he walked up to her and kissed her.

"Hey yourself" said Lacus. She was wearing a white summer dress that came down right at the knee. Logan noticed she looked tired. Probably from all the stress.

"Were did you get the car?" asked Logan.

"It is actually the same car you trashed in Paris" said Lacus playfully "I bought it from the company and I had a guy I know turn it into a convertible."

"Well this is certainly a surprise" said Logan "now I have a surprise for you."

"Wait" said Lacus suddenly getting nervous "it's 6:00 local time. We should get something to eat."

"Okay" said Logan "were are the keys."

"Oh no" said Lacus "I am driving for the rest of this honeymoon." They got into the car and drove to a small café not far from the beach. A kind Greek gentleman who owned the place gave them one of the outside tables. A waiter took their drink orders. Logan was about to order a bottle of wine when Lacus declined and said would just have water. For dinner Logan ordered a artichoke stuffed squid. He had herd from Cagalli that it was quite a good dish. Lacus ordered that and a baked pasta with mushrooms, which surprised Logan. Lacus was not a heavy eater.

"So" asked Logan when the food arrived "how long have you been here?"

"A day" said Lacus. Then she attacked her food with surprising force. Logan knew she must have been under a lot of stress for her to be acting like this.

The dinner went by in silence. Logan could tell that Lacus wanted to tell him something, but he knew it wasn't wise to press the matter. After dinner they got into the car and drove to a beach. The moon was out and they were the only people on the shoreline. They sat down a few feet from the water, her in a white dress, Logan in shorts and an open button down and a T-shirt.

"I have something to tell you," they both said at the same time.

"You first" said Lacus embarrassed.

"I know the last couple of days have been hard on you" said Logan "I'm sorry I put you threw that. But the men were after me are dead. We don't have to worry about them."

"But that's not what you want to tell me" said Lacus.

"Olivia Taylor offered me a job" said Logan.

"I job as in a position as a solder?" asked Lacus.

"Yeah" said Logan "and I have just been selected to win the Metal of Honor. And I think I'm going to accept both."

"Why?" asked Lacus.

"Because" said Logan "so many wonderful things are happening to me. And after all the crap I've done, I'm not sure I deserve them."

"What are you talking about" said Lacus "of course you deserve them."

"You say that" said Logan "everyone says that but my heart says different. I need to do this. There are more men like Azrael out there. They need to be stopped. I need to protect the people from them."

"But why you" asked Lacus.

"Because" said Logan "I did these terrible things. I to make it right. I have the power. I need to use it. There are so many people counting on us to stop these people who are trying to destroy the peace we obtained. I have a responsibility to do my part, they need me. Once I've done my part, then I'll put down the guns for good."

"There in lies the problem" said Lacus.

"What are you talking about" said Logan.

"You will never think you've done enough" said Lacus "you will never give up. You will always fight and protect the people. It's not in your nature to just walk way."

"Azrael said something to me before he died" said Logan "he said that I was being selfish when I married you. Maybe he had a point."

"No he didn't" said Lacus "Two weeks ago I stood on an alter and swore before God to stand by you no matter what."

"So you're going to stay with me" said Logan.

"I knew the craziness that would be involved in marring you." said Lacus "I don't give up ether, I love too much. I don't care what happens, I can't live without you, and you can't live without me. So what is this going to be like."

"I would have to leave for a week every month." said Logan "It's special forces so there is no real schedule. But when I'm not on a mission, I'm home with you."

"This could be a good thing" said Lacus "we have a house for the kids to play in. The stability will be good for them."

"Kids" said Logan "don't you think that it's a little early for that."

"Well…" said Lacus her voice trailing off.

"Lacus" Logan said firmly "what's going on."

"Logan" she said her voice faltering. She was one of the world's biggest pop stars but she was never more nervous then she was now. "Logan" she said again her voice cracking "I'm pregnant."

All the color drained from Logan's face. He got up and started walking aimlessly. "We're having a baby" he kept repeating.

"Logan" said Lacus fallowing him "what's wrong."

"Where having a baby" he said again. Then he turned around. Lacus never saw a bigger smile on her husband's face. "We're having a baby!" he shouted. Then he picked her up and spun her around in the air.

"You're not mad" said Lacus.

"Mad" repeated Logan, "I have never been more happy in my entire life. I'm going to be a daddy. You're going to be a mommy. We're going to be parents." Then he pulled her into a hug.

"Logan" she said "careful."

"We're going to move right after we get back" said Logan "we will get a house, well start shopping for baby stuff. "

"Everything's going to change now isn't it" said Lacus.

"For the better" said Logan.

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


	24. Epilogue: A New Beginning

Logan sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs of the Presidio Medical Center's Maternity Ward. He put his head down and started rubbing his forehead. His knees where Jell-O, all he could remember was Lacus' screams as she was going into labor. He was also terrified at the prospect of becoming the father of two. They had found up a few months ago that Lacus was carrying twins.

At first Logan was ecstatic about becoming a father. Then as they got closer and closer to the due date, Logan was more and more frightened. Was a guy with his problems cut out to raise two kids; he couldn't shake the feeling that most people would say no. What if he screwed up and his kids turned into total psychos? He had nightmares about visiting one of his them in federal prison. Logan had been in many situations, but he new that he was never as scared as he was now.

"Logan" cried a voice. Logan looked up and saw his best friend, Olivia Taylor, walking into the waiting room. She was wearing tight black paints and a brown tight leather jacket. Logan got up to meet her. When he walked up to her and Olivia hugged him as hard as she could. "Why aren't you in there?" she asked Logan.

"Well" said Logan "we didn't get to the hospital in time, so they couldn't giver her anything to stop the labor pains."

"Oh" said Olivia.

"Then I started to argue with the doctors" Logan continued "then they threw me out of the delivery room as an obstacle to treatment."

"Why am not surprised" said Olivia "how are you holding up?"

"I'm going out of my mind," said Logan nervously "my wife is going into labor. We're going to be the parents of twins, and I'm having nightmares every night that I am going to screw up and they will end up worst than I was. I have done all of these terrible things, I don't know if I am fit to be a father." He sat down and started shaking. Olivia had never known Logan to be like this.

"Hey" said Olivia sitting down with him. She put her hand on his knee and turned his head toward her. "You are not the most stable person," said Olivia "but, you are also good, honest, funny, smart. You will know how to teach your children how to be good people. You are going to make a wonderful father. It's not like you and Lacus are two teenagers. You have a house, a job, and health insurance. You spent your last paycheck buying baby stuff. You spent the past four weekends painting the babies' rooms. You two are ready for this."

"Thanks Olivia" said Logan "thing is I'm still terrified."

"I think that's natural," said Olivia.

Then the door to the waiting room opened again. Kira, Athrun, Murrue, and Waltfeld walked in.

"Logan" said Athrun running up to him "how is she?"

"She's been in their for a few hours" said Logan "I have no idea how long its going to be."

"Sorry Cagalli couldn't make it," said Kira "she had a official business, but she says that she will be here for the baptism."

"Who is this?" asked Waltfeld, pointing at Olivia.

"I'm Olivia Taylor."

"Would you happen to be the same Olivia Taylor who is the daughter of Atlantic Federation President Allison Taylor?" asked Waltfeld.

"The very same" said Olivia.

"We have herd a lot about you," said Athrun.

"And I you" said Olivia.

"Did you decide who the god parents are going to be?" asked Murrue.

"Athrun and Cagalli are going to be Alex's godparents" said Logan "and Kira and Olivia are going to be the Veronica's."

"So you decided on names for the kids, " asked Athrun "Alex and Veronica."

"Yep" said Logan. Then they all sat down in the chairs in the waiting room. Waltfeld tried to start up a conversation but no one was really in the mood for talking. They could hear the screams of Lacus from the delivery room.

Logan sat there feeling useless. He knew that Lacus was in pain and there was nothing he could do to stop that. They kept hearing the screams for another hour when it stopped. Everyone sat up, anxious to hear what would happen next. Then they heard the soft cry of a baby, and then another baby.

Everyone in the waiting room started cheering. Olivia hugged Logan and kissed him on the cheek. Then a nurse walked into the room and up to Logan.

"Captain Mercer" said the woman "you can see your children now."

"Go get um Top Gun," said Olivia patting Logan on the back. The nurse led Logan down a hallway and into a room. Logan saw Lacus in a hospital bed. She looked tired and was sweating from all the pain she just worked through.

"Hey Logan" she said, "come meet your kids." Logan looked and saw that she was holding a baby girl. His baby girl. With Lacus' facial features, and Logan's green eyes.

"Here" said another nurse. This one was holding a boy. His boy. The boy looked like Logan, but when he opened his eyes Logan saw that his son had Lacus' grey eyes. The nurse then handed the boy to Logan.

"Make sure that you support his head just like I am doing now." Logan took his son from the nurse and held the boy. He then walked over and stood next to Lacus' bed. He could feel a tear rolling down his check.

"Hey, Alex" he said to the boy. Then he turned to his daughter "Hey Veronica, I'm your Daddy."

* * *

© 2012 Evan Brucia All Rights Reserved


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